The Keys of My Destiny
by RageLokiCat
Summary: My 1st fanfic, written from 1st pony POV. Updated hopefully every 9 days. A horrible event has caused me to forget everything about who I am, and has sent me to the world of Equestria. I don't have a clue what I'm doing here, or what's going to happen, but I know I'm in for one heck of a ride! Please write a review when you read too, everything helps! Previously: My Grand Adventure
1. A New Arrival, Vashta Nerada

**Hey everypony! This is my first fanfic, but I hope I don't let you guys down. I may edit this first chapter a few times, but as of 3/31/14 it's all good and the second chapter is coming close to completion. I'm sorry if I have trouble with the P.O.V. I've never written this way before. Please leave any and all reviews you would like, I know you hear this a lot, but reviews are the most important thing you could give, because they mean better writing. So, without further rambling, I present: The Keys of My Destiny**

**...**

***Several weeks later***

**...**

**Haha nope! I sorta realized that there's no point in having a review question if I don't post some of the responses I get! So, from now on, I'm going to write up my top three choices, or if that doesn't apply, the first three, on the chapter after the question is asked. I.E. Chap 1 answer on 2, 2 on 3, so on and so forth.**

**Also, I'm pleased to say that as of 5/23/14 We have passed 1,000 views, and for that, I've spent much of my brain-power and many hours designing the plotline for the story, and can proudly say that we are no-longer in a discontinued state! *Cue Fluttershy 'Yay'* I think I'm going to start posting the view-count at the beginning of each chapter, as it was when the chapter gets posted. Don't judge me, it makes sense in my head. -_-**

**I'm going to combine Chapters 1 and 2 because they are so short.**

**Here are my answer choices for what used to be the chapter 1 review question, (Favorite pony) which will soon be no longer:**

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**TwiLanes:**

_**"[M]ine is a tie between Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle. I just can't decide between them."**_

**Phoenix of the Blessed Sun:**

_**"Oh! And as for the question, Derpy is my favorite."**_

* * *

**There were only two answers, but if a third comes in, I'll add it. Aaaand I think that's it! For reals! For now... ;3**

* * *

I shook my head and looked around. I couldn't really remember what happened, or for that matter, anything at all. What I saw seemed to surprise me though. I was laying in a clearing in a forest, surrounded by picture-esch spooky trees. They were dark, casting shadows all over, and packed close, leaving little room to see. A small winding path led away from the clearing, disappearing into the forest. I shook my head again as I tried to remember what happened. Suddenly, I remembered the sound of a gun-shot and a wave of pain hit me. I looked down and saw that there was a bleeding streak cut across my body, oozing blood at an alarming rate. Suddenly I realized something. I'm supposed to be a human! And last I remember, humans don't have medium-length orange hair all over their bodies. I looked down at my body again. Ok, I know humans don't have four legs. Or hooves. And... Is that a tail? I looked back and swished my tail, smiling before another wave of pain reminded me that I was sort-of dying. I looked quickly around again, and for the first time noticed just how damaged the clearing looked. It seemed like some of the trees had recently been broken apart, there were branches and bunches of leaves all over the place. There were also a bunch of scorched pieces, leading me to think that whatever brought me here was not an easy process. Suddenly, I heard the sound of small hooves pounding quickly across the earth and I spun my head around to see a small yellow filly with red hair and a large pink bow running up to me. Knowing that even if she had unkind intentions, I'd never be able to get away, I lay on my side and waited for her to reach me.

"Oh mah goodness! Are ya ok?" She said as soon as she reached me, panting through her words.

"Funny you should mention that." I said as I nodded towards the slice in my side that she clearly couldn't yet see. She frowned and walked around me until she could see my side. She gasped and stared at my side in shock.

After a few seconds, she looked back at me and said: "Do ya think you could walk if I helped you? There's more help on the way, but I'm not sure ya will make it that long the way you're bleeding."

"I guess I don't really have much of a choice, I don't really want to die here." I said as I struggled to get up. She rushed over to me and helped nudge me onto my feet, allowing me to lean on her for support. I could barely feel my right legs, but with the little filly's help I was able to stand. I started hobbling in the direction of the path, not wanting to go too fast and fall but not going any slower than I needed to.

"By the way, what's your name?" I asked her as we worked our way down the path.

"Mah name's Applebloom. What about yours?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Well, to be honest, I don't remember. I don't really remember anything. I must have hit the ground super hard..." I said, trying again to recall what happened to me.

"Ya got that right. Mah sis and I saw a huge hole open up in the sky, then ya fell out. Lucky it wasn't higher, or I don't think ya would've made it." She said with a concerned smile on her face. We continued slowly along in silence before suddenly everything started to go black, and I felt myself falling to the ground.

* * *

There was the sound of a gunshot, and I heard someone scream. All around me there were fires burning, and I could barely see. Suddenly, I heard another gunshot, and the screams stopped. The world started to fade, and I just remember someone appearing in the doorway, holding a gun. Suddenly, I shot up out of bed. I immediately gasped as I felt the wave of pain that rolled over me, and I remembered that when I was last conscious, I was bleeding to death in the forest, with Applebloom trying to help me to safety. I looked around the room I was in and was shocked at what I saw. I had expected to wake up somewhere quaint, maybe not even in a formal hospital. But this was the nicest hospital room I had ever seen, with all the equipment necessary to heal a dying pony. Wow, I actually just thought of myself as a pony. I hardly remember anything of the other, human world I came from, so I guess it's fair. I sat further up in bed and inspected my side more closely. I had been fully bandaged up, and despite the new pain from jumping out of my nightmare, I actually felt pretty good. Not stellar, but well enough. I saw windows on either side of the room, but the blinds were closed. Judging by the light streaming in anyway, though, I guessed it was about mid morning. I thought about how funny it was that I was a pony, and yet still in a bed under blankets like a human. I chuckled to myself as I slid carefully back down under the covers and pulled the blankets up to cover me better. After what felt like only a few minutes I had nodded off again.

"Applejack said he just fell out of the sky? How unusual. I've never even heard if such a thing occurring, I'll have to talk to Celestia before I can even begin to guess what happened to him though."

"Oh, ok. Well, um, I think I'll sit with him for a little while then, just encase he wakes up. If that's ok."

"That's fine with me Fluttershy, I'm sure he'd be glad to have some company. I'll see you later?"

"Oh, um, yes. Yes I think so." I woke up just in time to hear somepony quietly say. There was the sound of hooves and then the quiet click of the door closing. Knowing that I was not alone this time, I was careful not to jump up out of bed like last time. I slowly opened my eyes and yawned, apparently still scaring the pony sitting next to my bed, judging by how she jumped.

"Oh I'm so sorry, I- I didn't mean to disturb you." She stammered out after she collected herself.

"It's fine, I was awake anyway." I said, smiling warmly at her. She smiled a tiny bit back, but still looked guilty. I glanced at the window blinds and saw that I had slept a long time, as it was starting to get dark out.

"I'm sorry to be intruding, would you, um, would you like me to leave?" She said quietly as I looked back over at her. For the first time since I woke up, I noticed what she looked like. She was a soft yellow, with a beautiful flowing pink mane and tail. She also had three butterflies on her flank, which I assumed were some sort of tattoo. I wondered how that would work with ponies, but I wasn't about to ask a girl I didn't even know. Then I remembered the question she had asked.

"No, you're fine, it's nice to have someone to talk to." I said to her, yawning again.

"Well, um, ok then. Is- Is there anything you want? Any family that we should notify about you?" She asked, again expressing her ability to be super quiet and still be clear. For some reason, the mention of family sent a stab of pain through my heart, but I couldn't place why. I shook my head, both as a no, and trying to clear away whatever it was that I was feeling. I changed the subject, hoping to distract myself.

"So what's your name? I'd introduce myself, but I'm afraid I still don't remember my own name." I said, laughing slightly at myself. She took me completely seriously though, and replied quickly.

"I'm really sorry you can't remember, if there's anything we can do to help please ask. And, um, my name is Fluttershy." She said as she looked at me with a concerned look on her face.

"I'm sure I'll be fine, it'll probably just take some time for it all to come back to me." I said with a chuckle and a smile at her. She smiled a little back before asking if I was hungry. I said I was fine, and she looked down at her hooves in embarrassment. Feeling bad for her, I changed my mind.

"Actually, now that you mention it, I am a little hungry. But I'll be fine for now, I can have food in the morning." But she jumped up out of her chair anyway.

"We can't have you hungry when you're healing from such a bad injury, I'll go find you some food. Um, is there anything in particular you would like?" She said, slowing and looking back at me.

"Uh, surprise me? I'm not at all fussy, I'll eat anything. And thank you, you don't have to go to all that trouble." I said to her, and she smiled a little more before quickly disappearing from the room. It was a few minutes of waiting and I had started to doze off again when Fluttershy came back in, carefully carrying a sandwich on the small plate in her mouth. I smiled as she walked over and placed it on the small table next to my bed.

"Um, will you need help sitting up?" She asked cautiously, watching me with concern.

"I think I got it, thanks." I said, slowly pulling myself up into a sitting position. My side burned the whole time, but once I got settled again it reduced to a dull ache. I looked over at the plate sitting on the table and realized how very far away it seemed, but I was determined to reach it. Slowly reaching over, I winced as pain shot through my body again. Fluttershy saw my trouble and went to help, but right as I was getting close to reaching far enough my balance gave out and I tipped over, brushing noses with her as I fell over onto the bed. She squeaked and her face turned bright red as she covered her nose with her hoof. She grabbed the plate and handed it to me once I had sat back up. Laughing a little and blushing a bit myself, I said "sorry" quietly as I grabbed the sandwich off the plate. As I begin eating, she tries to cover her embarrassment by asking why I didn't use my magic to lift it. I paused and looked at her with a questioning look.

"I'm sorry, I meant your unicorn magic." I gave her another looked, this one mixed with curiosity, as I chewed on my sandwich.

"Oh, um, hang on..." She said as ducked down and dug around under the table somewhere. She came back up with a mirror and held it up for me to see. My jaw dropped when I saw that I did, indeed, have a horn. It was yellow, like my mane and tail, and maybe four or five inches long.

"And because I'm a unicorn, I can use magic?" I asked Fluttershy, putting down my food to carefully feel my horn. She nodded and waited until I was done before putting the mirror back.

"Um, as far as I know, most unicorn foals learn to use their magic when they're young. Since it seems like you don't know, maybe you should ask my friend Twilight Sparkle. She's really good with magic. She might know how to help you better. Or whatever you want to do is fine..." She said, trailing off.

"That sounds like a great idea! Probably not until I can walk around again though." I said, finishing off the sandwich. I reached over to put it back down on the table, but before I got too far Fluttershy grabbed it for me. I jokingly covered my nose and smiled at her and laughed as she blushed again.

"Thanks again for the food, I definitely needed that. Although now I feel like I could sleep for a moon..." I said, trailing off as a huge yawn took over.

"Oh, ok then I'll go and let you sleep." She said, grabbing the plate again and standing up. Just as she was heading out the door, It was my turn to be shy, and I called to her again.

"Hey, um, do you think that, um, maybe you could come back tomorrow? It'll be awfully lonely on my own all day." I said, hoping not to sound too awkward.

"Oh sure! Maybe tomorrow you'll remember more about yourself, too!" She said happily. She carefully closed the door behind her and suddenly the room was quiet again. I smiled as I settled down to sleep, hoping that I had made my first friend.

* * *

"Mom, Dad, wake up," I said, opening the door to their room.

"What is it, sweetheart?" My mom asked.

"I think I just heard a crash, like a window breaking. I think there might be someone in our house." I said quietly, looking frequently around like I expected someone to jump out of the shadows. Then, like clockwork, the fire alarm began going off. My parents quickly jumped out of bed and my dad grabbed the baseball bat he had hidden under the bed. Slowly my mom and I followed him to the stairs, where we all looked down. Nothing was obviously damaged, but it was clearly starting to get smoky. Knowing that the door was right around the corner at the bottom of the stairs, we decided to risk it. We crept down as quietly as we could. Terror raced through my body, however, when we reached the bottom and saw a man in all black with a mask standing in front of the door, as if guarding it. He had a gun in his hand, and he held it as is he knew exactly what he was supposed to do with it. The hallway here was narrow, and across it from us was the dining room, which led to another door. The source of the fire seemed to be near the dining room, but at this point there was no other choice. We heard someone bark out a command to the man at the door, and for a moment he looked away from us. I felt my mother give me a push, and I knew I had to cross the hallway. As quickly and quietly as I could, I scampered across and then hid around the wall, holding my breath to try to keep as much smoke out of my lungs as possible. I heard another bunch of talking, and I felt slightly trembling through the floor as my mother and father tried to cross the hall as well. My mother made it, covering down next to me on the wall. My father must have been almost across when suddenly I heard the snapping explosion of a gun being fired. My mother and I sat there, frozen, when after the longest instant if my life we heard a loud grunt and the sound if something large hitting the floor. Slowly, as if a ironic final message, the baseball bat rolled slowly through the doorway. The whole world froze around me, even the smoke seemed to stand still. Somehow, I just couldn't believe my father had just been shot. I felt like I kept expecting him to come through the doorway, and then we could all escape. A second ticked by, and I suddenly realized my mother was screaming next to me. Suddenly, I truly realized what happened. My father had just been shot, and probably killed. He's not coming through. Get out of here. Get away. Run. I went to grab my mother's hand and pull her with me, but she had already dived back through the doorway, as if she thought she could save the love of her life by dying with him. I still heard her screams, but they sounded so far away, like the bottom of a well. I reached out as if to grab her, but she was already gone. Suddenly, I heard another gunshot and her screaming abruptly stopped. My instincts must have taken over by that point, because instead of jumping out after her, I got up and tried to run for the door. However, fate showed it's distaste for mercy when I tripped over the very baseball bat my father was going to protect me with, and I came crashing to the floor. The pain must have woken me up a little, because I turned around just in time to see the man with the gun walk through the doorway, over the bodies of my parents. I couldn't see any of his face, but I knew in my heart that he was smiling as he raised to gun to point at me. I heard the gunshot, felt the searing pain of a thousand suns, and then lost consciousness.

Suddenly, I was awakened by somepony gently shaking me awake. I looked over and saw Fluttershy standing next to my bed with a seriously worried look on her face.

"I'm so sorry I woke you up, but... You were screaming. You sounded like you were in so much pain. I... I thought you would feel better awake..." She trailed off, staring at her hooves. I started to respond, when I remembered what I had woken up from. Tears instantly began to stream down my face, and I looked away from her. Too late, however, to stop Fluttershy from seeing, and she immediately started blurting out apologies again.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I... I didn't know. I... I'm so sorry I woke you up. Please, please forgive me!" She stammered, starting to tear up herself. I raised a hoof up to tell her to stop, and after a few seconds, managed to speak again.

"It's not you Fluttershy, what you did actually was very kind in this case. I... I just..." Suddenly I couldn't hold it in anymore, and I broke down in tears again. I sat there crying for a few more seconds, and then I brought myself under control again. Then, I carefully finished my sentence.

"I just had a dream, and my memory of what happened came back to me. And... Could I have some alone time?" I said haltingly, trying to keep my composure in front of Fluttershy. She nodded solemnly, and then walked slowly back over to the door. Just as she was about to leave, she turned and asked quietly if I would like her to come back later. I nodded as enthusiastically as I could, and then she left. Finally, I let go of all my emotions and lay back on my bed, sobbing. Normally, emotional control is something I am a master at. But now... _Both my parents are dead. Dead. Never again will I hear the sounds of their voices. And somehow, I'm not dead, even though I should be. I wish I had died, so that I could be with mom and dad._ I continued arguing within my mind as I sobbed myself into a mess. The final images of their lives, playing over and over again in my head. I could remember everything I had ever done wrong by them, and how now I would never be able to apologize. A thousand times I watched them die before my consciousness was swept away from me and I fell asleep, ready to face a new kind of hell in my dreams.

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**WElp, that was cheerful, wasn't it? Don't worry, that won't happen often, but it was a necessary part of developing my OC. Thanks to RollingBoxProduction for help with the second half. (You should go read their fanfics!) So, instead of making more excuses, I'll just write the review question and suggest you go post a review.**

**Are you a Celestia/Day person, or a Luna/Night person?**

**Have a good day everypony!**


	2. Cookies Are Eternal

**Heyy everypony! I'm wearing pants right now, and you know what that means! A new chapter! (Ignores questions about the validity of my statement). I have something I need help with though, and that is, do you think I should make chapters longer and actually get something done in them, or keep producing quickly like I am? When you're done reading, be sure to leave a review saying how I did, what I should fix, and answering any and all questions that you would like to. Now, onwards and forwards!**

**The view count (Like all of the first 6 chapters as of my massive 5/23/14 update) is 1004**

**My favorite responses to the question: "__****Are you a Celestia/Day person, or a Luna/Night person?"**

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******chipmunkfanantic:**

_******"I'm both a Day and Night person that explains how i can handle not crashing or falling asleep in the middle of the**_****** day"**

******Phoenix of the Blessed Sun:**

_******"I'm definitely a Luna/Night person. Which is ironic to my name. Heh heh"**_

******TwiLanes:**

_******"And...um...i dom't know...a little bit of both? I'm definitely not a morning person but I like the rest of the day..."**_

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******So that's everything I wanted to say! Have fun reading!**

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Slowly, I saw the world around me come into focus. I was expecting to be back in my burning home, seeing some variation of my parents' death. But this was a very different place. As best I could recall, this was the clearing where I first fell into this world. I looked down, and saw that I was in my pony form, orange body with a _ spiky mane and tail. After a few seconds, I realized I was able to form coherent and rational thoughts, which doesn't often happen when I dream. I didn't have long to consider the implications, however, because across the clearing from me a cloud of purple smoke had began to gather. I stared in awe as the smoke quickly thickened and then formed into the shape of a tall, regal alicorn. Suddenly the smoke hardened into an actual form, and suddenly in front of me stood a purple mare with a lighter purple mane and tail. I stood in shock for a few seconds, before she broke the silence.

"Hello young one. My name is Princess Luna. I co-rule this land with my sister, as well as I control the moon and all things night. That is why, as I am sure you're currently wondering, I am in your dream. I am sorry for the intrusion, but my sister requested I find out more about you after your less-then-regular arrival." I stared at her, taking it all in for a few seconds before nodding. A thought then came to mind though, and I responded angrily.

"If you can enter dreams, then why didn't you last night? I wasn't exactly having the best time, I think you could have figured that out!" I was pretty sure yelling at royalty was a bad idea, but I did it anyway.

"I am again sorry, but last night your mind was blocked from my reach, and there was nothing I could do. I could not even see into your dream last night, I presume because of the emotional turbulence." She said quietly, looking genuinely sad about what had happened. I immediately felt bad and apologized for my outburst.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't justified. I'm just a little emotionally temperamental right now." I said, hanging my head in shame.

"Do not apologize for speaking from your heart in this time of hardship. You had every reason to believe that I could have helped you. But let us put that behind us and focus on the more pressing issues." She said, smiling again.

"Sure, but I'm afraid I don't understand, what pressing issues? Have I done something wrong?" I said, smiling uncertainly back.

"Nothing specifically. My sister and I, however, have a duty to protect this land, and your arrival was beyond anything we have ever seen. We need to make sure that nothing will happen because of it. That is why I have to ask that you tell me everything you can about what happened." Luna said, left looking more somber and serious now. I carefully considered her story for a few moments before I began mine.

"I came, as far as I can tell, from another world. Maybe from another dimension entirely. On my world, the dominant species are called humans. We walk on just our back two legs, straight up, and we didn't have any hair on our bodies." I thought about how terrible a description that was, until I remembered that I was actually dreaming and could probably show Luna. I closed my eyes and imagined myself back in my human form. Much like what I saw when Luna first arrived, I felt my form changing and shifting. When I opened my eyes again, I was tall enough to look Luna in the eyes. I looked down at my body, but may much to my surprise I was actually unhappy to see my human body again. I decided that was just because of my recent emotional trauma connected to this body, and I continued my story.

"This is what we looked like. We didn't have wings, and more importantly, we had no magic at all. We didn't have anywhere near the scientific abilities to make a portal to this world, so it can't have started on our end. Right before I lost consciousness and was sent here, I was about to be murdered by a human who had broken into our house. That's where the massive gash in my side came from." I paused again as I realized I had been talking very quickly, and I didn't want to confuse Luna any more then necessary.

"I don't remember actually coming here, I just woke up in a scorched and battered clearing in the forest three days ago. However, the filly who found me, I think her name was Applebloom, said I fell out of a giant hole in the sky. And that's all I know. Since then I've been, as I'm sure you're aware, in my hospital room." I finished off my story with a bit of a joke, but it seemed to be lost on Luna, as she was deep in thought. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she spoke again.

"Thank you for your help. I will relay all important information along to my sister, and together we will do our best to unravel these mysteries. One more thing before I leave though, I'm afraid I never caught your name." She said, looking up at me brightly.

"Uhm... Name? My name is..." I trailed off. I knew my name, but from all I had heard of this world so far, it would never fit. I thought for a few more seconds, and then the perfect name clicked into my head from nowhere.

"My name is Blazing Star, known by my friends as Blaze." I lied, wondering why I felt like it was such a good name.

"An interesting name. Well, thank you for your time, Blazing Star. The night is waning, and soon our paths must part. I feel that I will see you again though." And with that, she began to fade again. In a moment, she was gone. I looked around, wondering what happened next, until the entire world around me began to fade as well. I assumed that meant I would be waking up soon. I wondered what the new day would bring, and soon I had slipped away from an active consciousness.

* * *

I woke up to sunlight streaming in the window. I groaned as I realized that despite sleeping all night, I was still tired. It turns out that even in the body is still, an active mind can still wear you out. Outside, birds were singing happily, and I couldn't help but smile, even despite the pain, both physical and emotional, that I was feeling. Considering how close to death I was, I actually felt pretty good. I lay in my bed, savoring the warm morning sunlight for a few minutes before carefully sitting up. I let out a large yawn and stretched, glancing over at the small table next to my bed. I looked over in surprise when I saw that somepony had set of a vase with flowers, as well as a plate of cookies. I thought about what happened last time I tried reaching out that far, laughing to myself about it.

This time, however, I was determined to reach those cookies, and Fluttershy wasn't here to help, so that left me on my own. I carefully reached over, until, after a painstakingly long time, I reached the plate. I carefully grabbed it, then tipped back over into a sitting position. Greatly satisfied with my work, I began to munch on the cookies. They were a sort of sandwich cookie, with a sweet apple layer in the middle. I had gotten through about half the plate when I heard a very quiet knock on the door. Smiling, already knowing who it was, I called out.

"Come on in Fluttershy!" I said, before beginning to munch on the next cookie. Except for the sandwich Fluttershy had gotten me, I hadn't eaten in at least 80 hours, and now that I was feeling better I was incredibly hungry. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the door open and Fluttershy walk in. I looked up see her walk over with a plate and a muffin. For a moment, I was disappointed that I would have a reason to stop eating the cookies, but that part of my brain was heavily overruled by the rest of me. She walked over and put it down on the table, and it was then that I decided to speak.

"Part of me knows I should be polite and say something like: 'Oh, you shouldn't have!', but honestly I couldn't have asked for a better thing to wake up to. Thanks!" I wasn't sure if I would still come across as rude, but I hoped she would understand. She smiled at me and responded in her usual, quiet way.

"Oh, it's fine. I know you haven't had a chance to eat much recently, and I hoped you would be feeling well enough this morning for breakfast. And I'm glad you are. Although, I hope you still have room after those cookies" She said, looking down at the mostly empty plate on my lap.

"Ya... Sorry about my... Condition when you woke me up yesterday. I can explain most of that, as well as more about myself now, if you'd like. It's the least I can do for all the time you've spent on me recently." I said, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment. She looked at me carefully, maybe trying to judge whether my cheerful attitude was just an act to cover my feelings, and then responded carefully.

"I... I would be happy to listen anything you want to tell me, but... don't feel you have to say anything, I don't want to pry." She said, looking down at her hooves.

"Well, in that case, you might want to grab a seat, this could take a while. Although, is it ok if I eat while I'm talking? I know its not proper, but..." I said as I slowly went to reach for the plate. Fluttershy responded, saying it was fine, before grabbing the spare chair and settling next to my bed. I grabbed the muffin plate, slid the cookies off my old plate off onto my new one, and stacked the plates on my lap. I then began my tale.

"I'm not too sure where to start. Actually, before I start, would you please promise not to tell anypony this stuff unless I say it's ok?" I asked her, already knowing that I could trust her not to go about gossiping about it.

"Oh! Of course! I... I wouldn't ever even consider sharing such personal information without permission." She said, actually sounding kind of hurt.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't accusing you, I was just asking. Where I'm from, you can't trust others to keep quiet unless you specifically ask them to. But I do trust you." I said apologetically.

"Oh, ok... Well, I'm sorry too. Here, you can almost always trust anypony to be considerate." She said, back to her usual shy self.

"Well, ok. I'll remember that. So, where should I start? I used to live on a different world. I wasn't a pony there, I was something totally different looking. It's hard to explain, but my kind, called humans, were really just tall monkeys that spent all their time on just two legs, and weren't covered in hair." I paused then, expecting her to ask what a monkey was, although I hoped this world still had monkeys.

"Awww, I saw a monkey once in a book, sometimes they look very cute. But some people say I think all animals look cute. Oh I'm so sorry, I must be interupting." She said, shrinking down a little. I giggled a little, then responded happily.

"You're totally fine, I'm glad you know what they are, I was worried this world wouldn't have any, and then it would be super hard to explain. But I'm getting sidetracked. We had evolved to the point where we lived in great huge cities, and there were billions and billions of us. Sometimes though, humans didn't get along all that well. Some of them stole from others, and some of them actually killed for fun." I shuddered at the thought, and looked over at Fluttershy, expecting to see a look of horror on her face. To my surprise though, she just had a look of understanding.

"They are far and few, but some ponies do that as well, unfortunately. But... Not in a while. Maybe... They've stopped..." She said, trailing off.

"I hope so. That would be nice. But ya, sometimes humans do really terrible things. And, while you never really expect bad things to happen to you, they do." I hesitated at this point, feeling the sadness well up inside again. I was determined to finish my story though, and I continued.

"Three nights ago, in the human world, I woke up to sounds in my house. I awoke my parents, and together we tried to go see what was going on. We found out that at least two humans had broken into our house. They had weapons, and could kill us at any moment. We knew we had to sneak out of our house. However, on the last step, something went wrong with our plan, and..." I felt tears began to stream down my face again, but this time I didn't turn away, but instead continued my story. "And... My father was killed. He had insisted he go last, because he cared for my mother and I and wanted us to be safe first. But it cost him his life." I was startled to feel a hoof on mine, and I looked over to see Fluttershy, who at this point was also tearing up. I managed a tiny smile before continuing again.

"My mother and I were pretty much safe, we could have made it out of the house with our lives. But my mother couldn't leave her husband to die alone, and she sealed her fate by jumping out of hiding to join him. I remember her screaming, and the worst part was, suddenly the screams stopped, and I knew she had been killed too. My brain sorta snapped then, and I tried to turn and run. But I tripped over something, and by the time I had turned around again, the man was there in the doorway, with his weapon pointed at me. I thought it was the end. I thought I was going to die. But somehow, I got sent here. I had been shot all right, that's where the massive gash in my side came from. But I was alive. A filly named Applebloom found me bleeding to death in the woods, and she helped make sure I got to safety. Since then, I've been here, under yours and this hospital's excellent care." I finished with a small smile at Fluttershy, and she tried to smile back before responding haltingly.

"I... I'm so sorry for you. I... I had no... Idea. I'm so sorry..." She then did something that amazed me, and she hugged me and began sobbing into my shoulder. This had never happened to me before, nor had I ever felt in necessary to do to someone else. Still, I hugged her back, as well as the pain in my side would allow. After a few minutes, she let go of me and sat back down. Trying to appear like the strong one, I smiled at her and asked if she was feeling better. She laughed a little, and smiled at me before nodding.

"So ya, that's my story. Also, I remember my name now. Well, my human name was Joseph, but I didn't think that would fit in this world, so I've decided to call myself Blazing Star, or just Blaze. I'm not sure why, I just felt that it was the right name for some reason. Not really sure..." I trailed off, thinking to myself.

"I... I think it sounds nice... Blaze... Can I call you Blaze? I mean... I don't really know you very well..." She said quietly, looking at me.

"You know me better then anyone else in this world, I think that qualifies. And, I mean... If we're friends... Then it's fine too..." I said, trailing off in embarrassment. She blushed a little, then looked down at her hooves as she replied.

"Oh... I was hoping we could be friends, so... I guess that works out... Thank you, Blaze." She said, still looking down at her hooves.

"For what? I mean, you're welcome, but..." I was slightly confused, as I wasn't sure I had actually done anything.

"For... For accepting me as a friend. Some ponies don't really like me, or they think I'm weird, because... Because I'm so shy..."

"That's terrible! I can't believe they would do such a thing! Of course I'll be your friend Fluttershy." I said, maybe with a little too much conviction, because I appeared to startle Fluttershy. After she settled back down though, she smiled happily.

"Thank you. Um... Is there anything you would like me to get? I see you must have been pretty hungry, you did eat the entire muffin and all those cookies..." She giggled a little and nodded towards the now empty plate on my lap. I looked down, and was dismayed to discover that the cookies were, indeed, gone.

"I think I'm good on food for now, but do you happen to know how long it'll be before I can get out of this bed? I'm sorta getting tired of sleeping all the time..."

"Oh, um, I could, uh, go find the doctor for you and ask. If you'd like..."

"If it's not too much trouble, that's be great." I replied, looking at her hopefully.

"Of course it's not! I'll be right back." She said, getting up from her chair and trotting happily over to the door. The last I saw of her was her tail disappearing around the door, before I heard the door click closed and the faint sound of her trotting away. _Man, I'm lucky that she didn't freak out when I said I wanted to be friends. That could have gone very baldy... _As I settled down to wait, I day-dreamed about finally being out of bed and of the adventures I would have in this world.

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**Was that fun? Good! I don't really have much to say, so I'll just write up the review question. What's your favorite type of cookie? If you say you don't like cookies, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Lol, no that would be mean! Have a great day everypony!**


	3. When Time Flies

**Good news! I have figured out how to add those fancy lines for author's notes! Anyway, I'm sorry this chapter took so long, I hope you like it though. Thanks to everypony who has reviewed, and I hope everypony continues to do so. Please don't hesitate to post all comments, even if you think the story sucks, everypony's opinion counts! So, read on, and remember to review when you are done.**

**The view count is 1004**

**The best (and only... D: ) Review answers to the question _"_****What's your favorite type of cookie?" **are:

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**Phoenix of the Blessed Sun:  
**

_**"Ever tried chocolate cookies with chocolate chips? They are GOOD! Those are my**_** favorite."**

**Guest:**

**_"my favourite cookies are chocolate chip and rainbow cookies"_  
**

**TwiLanes:**

**"_My favorite kind of cookie is a sugar cookie...with frosting. Or chocolate chip. Cookies are delicious."_**

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**I do believe they fully grasp the magnitude of the blessing that is cookies. Have fun reading everypony!**

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I heard a gentle knock on the door, and then the voice of Fluttershy quietly from the other side.

"Um... Blaze? I um... I'm back with the doctor, and I also brought my friend Twilight Sparkle. She's really been hoping to meet you, and now that you're feeling better, she asked if she could come say hi. Should... Should I bring them in?" Fluttershy asked haltingly.

"That'd be fine Fluttershy," I said, shaking off my daydream. I looked up to see the door swing open, and Fluttershy walked in, followed by first a light brown stallion with a darker mane and tail, presumably the doctor Fluttershy was talking about. He was wearing a large white coat that covered most of his body. Behind him slightly was a purple alicorn, not as large as Luna had been, in fact, this mare, whom I presumed was named Twilight Sparkle, was only a little taller than Fluttershy. The three walked over to the side if my bed, and then the doctor spoke.

"So how do you feel? As badly as you were hurt, it's a wonder you're sitting up and not in pain." The doctor said, looking at me with a mix of curiosity and concern.

"Well, unless I really stretch, I actually feel pretty good. A little sore, but like you said, better then I should." I agreed.

"Amazingly, none of your bones were broken, so if you would like to try and get up, the worst that could happen is that it would be painful." The doctor said, smiling.

"Sounds good to me." I said, pushing my blankets off, and turning towards the side of the bed. The three ponies standing next to my bed all backed up to give me some space. I slid carefully off the bed, landing first on my hind legs and then onto my front. I winced in anticipation of the pain I expected to come, but it barely hurt at all. I was a little wobbly from my lack of experience as a pony, and from spending the last three days in bed. I smiled and looked over at the doctor, who was nodding approvingly.

"That truly is impressive. I've never seen such a quick recovery before. So it doesn't hurt too badly? You haven't fallen over, so it must be pretty bearable." He said with a slight chuckle. Fluttershy smiled as well, and I saw Twilight Sparkle had a look of wonder on her face.

"I've felt better, but I've also felt worse. This is kinda painful, but I just suspect that's just from all the unusual movement." I said, carefully stretching different parts of my body to test. The doctor watched me, and he seemed to be judging the way I moved, before he spoke again.

"That may be true, but I think I'd still like to see you taking it easy for one more day. I certainly don't want you to have to come back here because you went gallivanting off too soon and hurt yourself." He said in a kind but firm voice. I nodded at him, and carefully clambered back up onto the bed and under the blankets.

"Thank you. Now, unless there is anything specific you need from me, I should go check on my other patients." The doctor said, looking mainly at me but also glancing at the other two. After we all nodded and I said my thanks he turned and left the room, leaving just the three of us again. After a few awkward seconds of silence, Twilight Sparkle decided to officially introduce herself.

"Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle, as I think Fluttershy already told you. Please feel free to call me Twilight though, my full name just feels too formal for friendly, casual social interaction." She said, holding out her hoof. I shook it as I responded.

"Nice to meet you Twilight. My name's Blazing Star, but Blaze is fine. Fluttershy told me that you might be able to help me with magic?" I said, glancing over at Fluttershy, who was just standing off to the side, staring at her hooves. She looked up when I mentioned her though, and smiled. I looked back over at Twilight as she replied.

"Well, I can try. I mean, my talent is magic, but I've never tried teaching someone from scratch before..." She said, sounding doubtful. She was silent for a little while, as if she was deep in thought.

"I am certainly willing to do my best; I just don't know how well it will work. I don't even know what kind of magic to help you learn besides the basics like levitation, since you don't have your cutie mark yet. Forgive me for intruding, but how is it that you've never used magic before, and have made it to your age without getting your cutie mark?" She asked with a looked of curiosity and wonder, but no anger in her voice.

"I'm not sure what a cutie mark is, but..." I glanced quickly towards Fluttershy. "I'm from a very far off land, so I've never really... Learned..." I said, knowing as soon as I said it how bad an excuse it was.

"You don't want anyone to know you came from another world, do you Blaze?" She said, watching me with concern.

"I... How did you know?" I said in shock.

"Well, when you were first brought here, a friend of mine and Fluttershy's said you fell out of a giant hole in the sky. You were unsteady standing up, like a young foal, leading me to believe you haven't used your pony body much. You didn't know you could use magic, and you don't know what a cutie mark is. That and I tend to read too much, so I'm familiar with things like this. However, even I have never heard of something exactly like your experiences happening before. I'm sorry I'm rushing, I do that when I'm in science mode." She said with a laugh. Then she looked back at me, and the look of bewilderment on my face, and her smile shrank. I looked over at Fluttershy again, who mouthed, "It's ok" to me. I looked back at Twilight and decided I could trust her with my secret, considering she had pretty much figured me out anyway.

"You're right, I am from another world. I'd rather not think about it too much, but my world was very different. That's why I'm so out of the loop of things here. Right before I came here, I had just lost my parent and was about to be killed, so I didn't exactly notice how I was sent here. But... Cutie marks?" I quickly changed the subject at the end, trying to keep my emotions in check. This time it was Twilight's turn to look at Fluttershy, who just shrank a little away from us.

"I won't pry into private details that you don't want to share, even though I have so many questions I would love to ask." She smiled a little, but when Fluttershy and I were both quiet, she quickly stopped. I realized I was being unfair to her, because she really was trying her best to help.

"It's fine; I would probably be the same way in your situation. I'm sorry I seem so grumpy; it's been a crazy past few days. I really don't know anything about what happened, so I'm afraid we'll all be stuck with guesses for now." I said, giggling at myself. She smiled again, and even Fluttershy looked a little happier. Twilight was quiet for a moment, and then she began explaining cutie marks to me.

"When a foal is born, they are born without any cutie mark. Cutie marks then appear on their flanks when they discover their special talent, the thing that makes them who they are. The cutie mark they get shows what they're good at. For instance, Fluttershy has butterflies to represent her skills with animals." Twilight pointed at Fluttershy's flank, at the picture I thought was a tattoo before. Fluttershy turned a little so I could see better. Twilight then continued her explanation.

"My cutie mark, on the other hoof, represents my magical talents. That's why I was surprised you didn't have one yet. It's very unusual for a pony your age to not have a cutie mark. It means you still haven't discovered your special talent. Although if you came from another world, I guess it makes sense. Do you remember being particularly good at anything before? Anything at all?" She looked at me with that look of curiosity that she was so very good at.

"Now that you mention it, no, I don't think I was. I mean, I was ok with animals, good with math, pretty good at hoof-to-hoof combat... But nothing serious. So I guess it makes sense. Do I just have to live life normally until I figure it out then?" I asked her, considering the implications of having not special talent.

"That's how most of us do it. I mean, the Cutie Mark Crusaders spent almost every waking hour trying things out, but that's almost normal life for them." I was surprised to hear Fluttershy speak up without sounding as shy, but when I looked over at her she was still standing like she wanted to be tiny and disappear. I chuckled to myself and looked back at Twilight as she spoke again.

"Exactly as Fluttershy said. Hopefully, you get yours without too much trouble, and then you can work on more advanced magic related to your talent. But until then, I'd be happy to try to teach you whatever I can. I'm often busy these days unfortunately, one of the side effects of being a princess it seems..." She said with a longing sigh.

"Wait, you're royalty?!" I said, shocked that she still spent time on someone mundane like me.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can't still find time for my friends." She said, almost reading my mind. She smiled warmly, and I saw that she really did feel like we were friends.

"Thanks. It's amazing, in my world, people barely cared that I existed. But here, everypony has been so kind... Thank you." I was tearing up again, but this time they were tears of happiness, and I wiped them away.

"Aww, I'm sorry Blaze. As longer as you're in Equestria... You'll always be able to find a friend." Fluttershy spoke up this time, smiling happily at me. Twilight nodded in agreement, before continuing where she left off.

"I have some free time tomorrow afternoon for a few hours, since you'll be able to get out of bed then, would that be a good time?" She asked me.

"You're the one with the busy schedule; I'll be available whenever you need me to be. Tomorrow sounds great. Is there somewhere in particular you planned to meet?" I replied.

"I was thinking outside in the small castle courtyard, that wait there's less stuff to break encase you... Have trouble." She finished her sentence with a laugh, as if it was typical of beginners to break things.

"That sounds fine; although I'm afraid I have no idea where that is." I admitted.

"Fluttershy, do you think you could show Blaze where the courtyard is tomorrow around 2:00? I know you're waiting for that animal food delivery, but since they had the trouble with lightning I think they're a few days behind." Twilight looked over at Fluttershy, who picked up her head quickly when she heard her name.

"Oh, um, sure. I think I'll be free then..." Fluttershy said, sounding again like her normal self. I ignored my curiosity at her short attitude change and focused on Twilight as she started talking again.

"Well, it sounds like that's settled. I'll be looking forward to tomorrow. I hate to have to leave so soon, but I should really get back to my duties. I can't wait to get to know you better, Blaze!" She said as she turned away from the bed and walked over to the door. Fluttershy and I watched her go and then were both quiet for a while before I spoke up again.

"I forgot to ask the doctor's name, do you happen to remember? I just wanted to put in a specific thank-you for all the work he's done to keep me alive." I said, deep in thought.

"I... I think it was Whooves. The mare at the front desk called him Doctor Whooves. She said he's the very best at strange and unusual cases. Apparently, you fall into that category. Not that that's a bad thing, I was just..." She trailed off.

"It's fine Fluttershy. You've got to not feel so bad about everything you say. You have to stand up for what you say, or people won't take you seriously. So... Doctor Whooves. Why does that name sound familiar? Maybe he did tell me his name was I wasn't paying attention..." I felt bad for Fluttershy, but I also wanted her to be more sure of herself, at least around me since I would never take anything personally. _Now that's something I'm good at, keeping a level head. Can I get a cutie mark for that?_ I wondered to myself.

"I'm sorry, I just... I don't want to be rude or anything. Because then maybe ponies won't like me as much." She said quietly.

"You're not rude if you believe in what you're saying. No pony should like you less for it." I said to her.

"Thank you, Blaze." She said, looking up at me with a smile.

"No problem, that's what friends are for." I said reassuringly. She blushed slightly and I smiled. Curiosity then dawned on me, and I decided to ask her about her special talent, which apparently was animals.

"Well... I care for all kinds of different animals at my home in Ponyville. I feed them, care for them when they're sick or hurt, and I help them get along with each other and with the ponies of Ponyville. Any time there's an animal problem, I get to try and fix it. I... I can also communicate with them, or at least understand them. I think it's the best job in the whole world." She said happily, looking out the window at the birds flying by.

"Wow. That's amazing Fluttershy." I said, amazed.

"Thanks." She blushed and looked away, but I saw the smile on her face anyway. I grinned and laughed, then flopped back down onto the bed so I was lying flat out. Fluttershy turned and looked at me.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, looking at me with concern.

"No I'm fine, I'm just bored. Do you happen to know what time it is?" I asked her, wondering how much more time in this bed I would have to endure. She giggled and pointed to the wall behind me, and I face-hoofed when I saw that it actually had a clock, and I had just never looked. After a few seconds of embarrassment, I figured out it was a little past two in the afternoon. That left at least six hours in which I had to find something to pass the time. I let out a long sigh, and then spoke up again.

"Do you have any ideas what I could do for the next few hours? I mean, you're great, but I bet you'll go insane if you're stuck in my company for that long, plus I bet you have to go soon anyway." I said, looking over at her.

"Well, you're right, I do have to go do some errands soon, but I could get you some books or something like that first, if you'd like." Fluttershy suggested.

"If you wouldn't mind, that would he wonderful. Do you think you could manage a book on equestrian history, and..." I thought for a second about my other choice.

"And a random book that you think you would find interesting. As a surprise. I always enjoy learning new things, so it should be interesting." I said, looking over at her. She nodded and turned to leave.

"Hey I just, um, I just wanted to say thank you. I know I've said it before, but... I wanted to say it again..." I looked away awkwardly. Fluttershy blushed and whispered 'You're welcome' before carefully walking out of the room. A huge smile spread across my face, and as I settled down to wait, I noticed a warm feeling in my heart that I don't remember having felt for a long time.

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**I hope you enjoyed that! I know I enjoyed writing it. I can't think of anything I'm forgetting to write here, so I'll post the review question and then you can be on your way. What was the longest time you ever had to spend in a hospital, and how did your friends help pass the time? That's it for this chapter everypony, have a nice... Day? Night? Whatever it is for you.**


	4. Bookville

**Heyy everypony! I know this is a few days early, but that's because I'm on school break! So don't get spoiled, I wont be able to do this much this quick again for a while. I don't think there's anything else important to say, other then WE'VE PASSED 250 VIEWERS! Lol sorry about that. But seriously, I love you guys, you make the world worth living in.**

**The view count is... 1004 (Never saw that coming, did ya? :P )**

**The question: _"_****What was the longest time you ever had to spend in a hospital, and how did your friends help pass the time?"**

**The answers:**

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**Phoenix of the Blessed**** Sun:**

_**"I think the longest time I've been in a hospital was... 2 days?**** Yeah."**_

**TwiLanes:**

_**"Well, not that I can remember, but when I had pneumonia my mom read me books and painted with me until I was well enough to go to school again. :3"**_

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**Sounds like... A good time? Probably not. Have fun reading, and don't forget to review!**

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"A brief guide to Equestrian History." I read aloud, looking at the first of the two books Fluttershy had brought. _Clearly, someone has a different definition of 'brief' then me_; I thought to myself, noticing the book was almost two inches thick. I pushed it off to the side and looked at the second book, the one inspired by Fluttershy's interests.

"Notable Pets Throughout Time." I read. I stared at the cover for a few seconds, before shrugging and opening it up. The table of contents listed a number of different regions and times, from as long as 3000 years ago. I opened up to the first pet and began reading. _Firethorn, a dragon who was born in the year 1382, lived for almost 300 years. He was owned by a family of earth pony miners, and saved them from cave collapse multiple times. It is said he could produce a flame so hot, it melted stone. No one knows exactly when he died, as he disappeared when he was 297 and was never seen again._ I read onwards, learning about his famous abilities and skills at moving rock.

Much to my surprise, the book was actually quite interesting, and before long, the sun began to set. I switched on the lamp on the bedside table and began reading about Glythious the fierce. More of a family member then a pet, he held off a changeling invasion for an entire day while the ponies of his town escaped. In the end, it cost his life, but he helped save over 500 ponies, and has been memorialized in a statue carved in his honor, which now resides in the Canterlot palace. I read a few more pages, then I decided to switch to the book about history, which was no doubt less interesting, but likely far more useful.

It was long past sunset, and in all reality nearing midnight when I slid into slumber. I had gotten through the first age, the medieval time of ponies. I had just started the next section on the rule of somepony named Discord when I fell asleep. The book slid slowly out of my hooves and over onto the side of the bed. Sometime later, I awoke with just enough brainpower to remember to turn the lamp off, and then I slipped off again, into the world of my dreams.

After many hours of skipping in and out of various dreams, none of which were terribly interesting, I finally awoke. I yawned, stretching and sitting up. After a few seconds sitting in the bed, I glanced out the window. My heart sank when I saw that it was no longer nice out. It was dark and dreary, and raining heavily. I yawned again, and then remembered that today I was allowed to get out of my bed, and that later I would be meeting Twilight to began my training with magic.

I sat in the bed for a few more minutes, before I yawned again and decided I was getting up. I pushed the covers off, and clambered over to the edge of the bed. I gripped the edge of the bed and slid down onto the floor, smiling at the feeling of standing on my hooves again. I took a cautious step, and then another. Soon I was walking around the room, although it wasn't much of a place to walk. After a few laps around the room, I still felt fine, and I decided that I would be ready when Fluttershy came. After a few seconds of thinking, I remembered that she had failed to tell me when she would actually come get me, although I hoped it would be soon. My physical exploration of the room had made me realize the fact that in terms of entertainment, it wasn't much better than the bed, as it too was fairly boring. As I wandered back over to the bed, I glanced back to my side, to where the gunshot wound was. It was still wrapped over, which I decided was most likely to stop infection. I jumped when I heard a knock on the door, but with a smile, I walked over and opened it.

"Hello Flutter- Oh. Or not. Hello Doctor." I said, seeing that it was not, in fact, my brightly colored friend, but instead a stallion of a much more reserved complexion. He looked me over and grimaced before responding.

"I do wish you could have waited for me before deciding to go running about your room." He said sternly.

"I'm sorry; I was bored out of my mind. Also, you said I was allowed to walk around 'Tomorrow', and it is now that." I retorted. He let out a long sigh, and then shook his head, as if in despair.

"I guess that is technically true, but you know what I mean. It is my job to make sure you are healed when you leave, not that you had a fun time. Now, since you have clearly already gone and tested your body out, how much does it hurt? I have a guess already, but it's always good to ask." He said, looking me over again.

"I feel great! No pain at all. A little stiff, but that's fast wearing off." I smiled; glad he wasn't going to continue to complain about my exercise. He nodded thoughtfully before replying.

"Ok then. If you are not in any pain, then there is not much else to be done. Although I do need to change those wraps." He said, pointing at my side. I nodded and backed out of the way, letting him in.

"I was hoping to be able to leave later today, although I'm not sure exactly when. Is that ok?" I asked as he rummaged about in the bag he was carrying. He nodded as he grabbed the things he needed and looked up again. Within a few seconds, he had the old wraps off, and I heard a gasp. I looked back and saw what had so thoroughly shocked him. The gash, which I remember being almost two inches wide and deeper than I could easily discern, was closed to the point of being only about half an inch wide, and much shallower. He shook his head in amazement as he began to re-wrap the wound, which despite being much better, would be a major health hazard if left uncovered. I stood patiently for a few minutes while he finished up, until finally he was done.

"Well, now that that's all done, you're set to leave. Feel free to check out whenever you are ready. I've done all I can, now you just need to stay out of trouble and you'll be fine." He said as he packed his things back away into the bag.

"Thank you so much Doctor, I never would have made it without you." I said, smiling. He nodded and said 'You're welcome' before walking out of the room again. With the click of the door closing, my room was once again plunged into silence. I spent a few seconds standing there, wondering how I could have healed so fast, but my attention soon wandered off. I walked back over to the bed and climbed up, wondering why they built the beds so high off the ground. I settled myself back into the center of the bed and grabbed the history boom from its resting place on my bed. I flipped it open to where I was, and then after I finished that page, I turned it away to reveal a horrible scene. The next page, along with what looked to be the dozen after it, were all torn out and missing. Wondering who would do such a thing, and more importantly, what they were trying to hide, I checked to see what the next available page was about. It was the next section of the boom, about the history of various villages and settlements of the early Midwest. Annoyed that I wouldn't get to learn more about this 'Discord' character, I began to read again. I had barely gotten down the page, however, before there was another knock on my door, as though fate was determined that I don't get to read more.

"Come on in." I said, still reading. I heard the door creak open, and I looked up to see the familiar smile of Fluttershy. I smiled and closed the book, giving it up as a lost cause.

"Thanks for the books Fluttershy, they've been a huge help. Especially the one about pets, that was really cool. Although this book has a big chunk of pages missing from the section about 'The age of Discord', which made reading it difficult." Her smile grew when I mentioned her book, but she looked worried when I told her about the missing pages.

"I'll make sure to let the library know it's damaged." She said, avoiding the question that she no doubt knew I was asking about the cause for their disappearance.

"Ok, thanks. So anyway, are you here to come get me out of this place?" I said jokingly, and she smiled again.

"Um, well, yes, if you're ready." She said happily.

"Never been readier." I responded, climbing back off the bed again. I glanced around the room to see if there was anything I should bring with me. I didn't own anything at that point, and I had no food to keep with me. I grabbed the books off the bed and turned back to Fluttershy. She nodded and turned towards the door, leading me away from the prison from entertainment that was the bed. Out in the hall wasn't any better, the walls were plain, with nothing the various doors on the walls to detract from the monotony. We walked to the end of the hall, then turned and traveled down three flights of stairs. My amazement at the view from my bed suddenly gained more meaning when I realized how high up we were. At the bottom, as we approached the main desk, Fluttershy slowed so she was walking next to me.

"Are... Are you still feeling all right? I'm sorry there were so many stairs." She said in an apologetic tone. I nodded and responded cheerfully.

"No need to apologize about the stairs, you didn't do anything wrong. Nothing hurts, I'm just a little tired, I haven't really done a whole lot of walking on these legs." I said with a laugh. She smiled and slowed up as we reached the front desk.

"Hi, I'm just here to check out, I was in room..." I trailed off, looking over at Fluttershy when I realized that I never checked the room number. She giggled and finished my sentence.

"He was in room 317. I believe Doctor Whooves was taking care of him." She said. The mare behind the desk looked down at the list she had, and after a few seconds we heard an 'Ah hah!' as she found me on the list.

"Here you are. Now that you're conscious, can I please have you name for the records, sir?" She said, looking up at me again.

"Blazing Star." I said, looking around the room.

"Ok, thank you. Have a nice day!" She said cheerfully.

"You too." I responded, heading towards the door. The rain had slowed down by this point, but I saw that we were still going to get soggy pretty quickly. I looked over at Fluttershy, who was walking up beside me.

"Is something wrong Blaze?" She asked, looking at me with worry.

"No, but I think we should probably drop these books off wherever you got them first, because unlike us, I don't think they can handle the rain for long." I said, looking down at the books I was holding.

"We'll first stop by the library then, it's only a few blocks off." Fluttershy said, taking the lead again. She pushed open the door and we headed out into the rain, sticking close to the cover of buildings when we could. After a few minutes plodding along in silence, I spoke up.

"So did you happen to check what it time it was when we left? I kinda forgot again..." I said in embarrassment. I heard Fluttershy giggle again.

"It's about half past eleven. That means we have around two and a half hours until you need to be at the royal courtyard up there." She said, nodding her head up towards the massive castle that loomed in front of us.

"The courtyard isn't on the ground floor?" I asked in amazement.

"Half of Canterlot, particularly the castle part, isn't actually on the ground. It's bound to the mountain with amazing building skills and a fair amount of magic. As such, much of the city is designed without really much thought to 'ground level'. They just put things where they would look good and work well. That's the marker where it stops being on solid ground." She said, pointing towards a line of black stone built into the roads several blocks off. I shook my head in amazement, wondering why humans with all of their technology couldn't manage this kind of city. After another minute or so of walking Fluttershy turned and entered a building, which I decided with its particularly ornate architecture and large size must be the library. I gasped when I saw the inside. There were more books then I could imagine, with bookcases everywhere. I did a quick count, and found that on the bottom floor where we were, there were six rows, each going 20 cases back. Then there was another two levels above us that I guessed would have almost as many books.

"Blaze? Are you all right?" I heard Fluttershy say quietly. I nodded slowly, but I was still doing the math. About 60 books per shelf, times six shelves per case, time 20 cases per row, times six rows per floor, times three floors... I got lost a little in the middle, but after a few more seconds, I got my answer.

"Nearly 130,000..." I said, trailing off.

"I'm sorry? Nearly 130,000 what?" Fluttershy said in confusion.

"Books. In this library. Sorry I've just never seen so many before." I said, looking away from the rows of tightly bound paper. I smiled, and Fluttershy smiled back, although I could tell she was trying not to giggle at me. I blushed and spoke again.

"Forgive me for being sheltered; I'll do my best not to show my lack of familiarity with city scenes from now on." I said, pretending to sound insulted, but with a huge smile on my face.

"Oh I'm sorry; I didn't mean to insult you, I... I was just remembering when I first saw this place. I reacted the same way. We don't have anything nearly this large in Ponyville." She said quietly.

"I'm not insulted Fluttershy. Oh right, I had forgotten you said you lived in Ponyville. I was kind of wondering how an animal expert would be able to work in a city like this." I said, now laughing at myself. She nodded, agreeing that it would be difficult. I walked up to the desk with the books, but as best I could tell behind the piles of books on the desk, nopony was there.

"Um, hello?" I said, thinking maybe I just couldn't see them. Sure enough, a few seconds later a head popped around one of the stacks, then disappeared again. We heard hoof-falls and then the book-pony appeared with a panicked look on his face. I tried to ask what I should do with the books, but before I finished he grabbed them and disappeared behind a stack again.

"Um, are you ok? Is there something we can help with?" Fluttershy asked, peeking around one side of the pile.

"No... Well... It's been a slow day, so I was slacking off about getting books organized and put away. Then one after another, a dozen ponies came in with a stack of books, and then Princess Twilight came in with her pile... And my bosses are gonna be here soon to see if I have been keeping up with the workload, and..." The three of us heard the door open, and I turned around to see two official looking unicorns walk in, who were no doubt the 'Bosses' in question. I heard him gasp and he started working like crazy again. The two unicorns walked over, both with looks of anger and disappointment on their faces. I walked back over to Fluttershy's side as they reached the desk.

"What is this mess?! Have you been working at all today?!" The taller of the two said.

"Y-y-yes sir, it's just-" He started to stammer out.

"Just what?!" The shorter of the two demanded.

"Princess Twilight and some others came in a little while ago and dropped off a huge amount of books all at once, and I've been working since then, there's just so many..." He was visibly shaking now, and I felt sorry for him. Before they could reprimand him again, I spoke up.

"It's true. My friend and I came in a little more than an hour ago and saw the pile then. He's done an amazing job. We were just offering our help, but he said this is his job and that he should be able to do it all." I said to the two, and the looks on their faces softened.

"Well I guess it's not fair to fire you over that. But we still want to see these cleaned up, and quickly." The taller one said, turning away. His partner quickly followed, and soon they were out the door. Fluttershy and I heard a huge sigh, quickly followed by a thud, and we looked around the corner to see him flat out on the floor. He lay there for a few seconds, then suddenly shot up and ran over to me. I didn't even have time to brace before he hugged me, crushing the wind out of me.

"Thank you so much! You saved my job! You are a very convincing liar by the way. Please, is there anything I can do to repay to?" He said in a blur of words.

"First, you're crushing me, and I don't want to go back to the hospital just yet. Second, I was just helping out someone in need, so don't worry about it." I said, wincing at the pain in my side after he let go.

"Hehe, sorry. Well, my name's Quilted Page, and seriously, if there's anything you need book related, just ask and I will be happy to help." He said, going back to one of the piles, working again.

"Will do. Oh, and my name is Blazing Star, and this is Fluttershy. So, do you want some help? We've got a little while." I responded, impressed at his sudden motivation.

"No thank you. You were right, this is my job and I should be able to do it." He said, picking up a stack.

"Well, if you're sure. See you later maybe!" I said as he disappeared into one of the rows with the pile.

"Maybe!" We heard him say loudly, followed by a number of 'Shhh' emanating from various sources. I chuckled to myself, then looked back over at Fluttershy, who had stayed fairly quite the whole time. She smiled at me, and I laughed again.

"Anyway, where to next? I don't know what's in this city, so I don't know." I said.

"Well, if you're hungry, we could go get lunch." She said, looking at me.

"Oooh, like a date?" I said jokingly, with a big grin on my face. Fluttershy then turned the deepest shade of red I had seen in a long time, and began to stammer out a response.

"I was joking about the date, of course. But I don't exactly have any money, so I'm not sure how I'd pay for mine." I said, as if nothing had happened. Fluttershy began to return to a normal color, and she finally managed to respond.

"Well... I- I could pay for yours. I mean, if that's ok..." She looked down at her hooves, and I felt sorry for picking on her.

"Hey, I'm sorry I said that Fluttershy. It was out of line. I'm just in a really cheerful mood, I couldn't resist." I said, nudging her gently.

"No, it's fine. I... I've just never been on a date before, so I wasn't really sure how to react." She said slowly.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I've never been on a date either." I said to Fluttershy, blushing a little. She looked up at me, and I saw a small smile on her face.

"Really? I thought I was the only pony in the world who hadn't at my age..." She said, sounding less sad now. I put hooves around her and hugged her, and to my surprise, she actually hugged me back. After a few seconds, I let go and looked at her again.

"Nope! But let's stop worrying about that for now. Lunch?" I said, smiling warmly.

"Lunch." She replied, smiling back.

"Then lead on, because I have no clue where the good food is in this city." I said, and she began to walk towards the door. I followed her, knowing now what the warmth I felt before was. The feeling of having a close friend.

* * *

**I think this is my favorite chapter so far. Don't worry though, I will get to Twilight's magic training next chapter, for sure, no matter how many words it takes. Your review question for this chapter is... Have you ever lied to save a friend, and actually gotten away with it? Have fun all, and until next time! Bye everypony!**


	5. What Goes Up, Must come Down

**Heyy everypony! Well, it's done finally. Are you ready for a 5.5K word chapter? I hope this is as good as it feels to me. As always, feel free to leave a review, even if you think it sucked, because I always want to know how to make my writing better! I'm not really one for large author's notes, so I'll shut up and let you go read! Have fun!**

**It's funny how I write as if I'm about to go away, but then later when I edit I stick more things in after :D**

**Don't worry, only a few more times. The view count is 1004**

**The review question that people answered: _"_****Have you ever lied to save a friend, and actually gotten away with**** it?" And here are their answers:**

* * *

**Drkeo:**

_**"yes I have, and it didn't work out for us lol talk about a huge back fire on us hahaha!"**_

**TwiLanes:**

_**"I've done it for my brother. As for a friend, probably, but ai can't remember it. (I've mostly gotten away with it when I've done it for my brother!)"**_

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******And Guest said 'no'. Such articulate language. No insult intended Guest. As always, have fun reading!**

* * *

It was about 1:30, and Fluttershy and I were on our way to the castle courtyard where I was supposed to meet Twilight. Fluttershy and I had just finished an excellent lunch at a small corner café, although we did have to eat inside as the rain had picked up.

"I think I may have forgotten to say it earlier, but thank you for lunch, Fluttershy. I'll be sure to pay you back once I find a way to earn some money in this world..." I said with a smile as we worked our way from the overhang of one building to the next.

"Oh, you're welcome. Don't worry about it, it's not like you were taking advantage, and I couldn't have you starve." She replied as we got back under cover. There weren't many other ponies out in this rain; many of them wisely choose to stay indoors. In fact, as I looked around, I noticed we were the only ponies in the area. Looking forward again at the castle, which was now looming in front of us, I wondered what Twilight had planned to try and teach me. From what I'd seen, nearly every unicorn was able to levitate things, regardless of their cutie mark, so I assumed that would be one of the things she would try. I must have been distracted for longer than I thought, because suddenly I ran into Fluttershy from behind, and I realized she had stopped outside the gate to the castle courtyard. I muttered 'Sorry' and looked around her, where I saw a pair of guards.

"Oh, hello Fluttershy, what brings you to the castle today?" The guard on the right said.

"Princess Twilight requested that Blazing Star here meet her in the courtyard at 2:00 for magic training. May we be allowed entry?" She said. I looked at the gate I front of us. It was definitely solid; it would be hard to break through. I wondered if two guards would really be enough, but I wasn't about to tell them that.

"Of course. Here you go Fluttershy, and Blazing Star." He said, opening the gate and letting us through. The courtyard was large, yet not unnecessarily so. Off to the side under cover, there were a pair of guards sparring with their spears, but other than that, it was pretty quiet. Also sitting under the under-hang was Twilight, who had a look of worry on her face. We had begun to walk over to her when she looked up and saw us. Her expression became more cheerful, and she stood. We finally made it over, and out of the rain.

"Thank you Fluttershy. Blaze and I shouldn't be too long, a few hours maybe. Do you know if the delivery you were waiting for has come in yet?" Twilight said, looking at Fluttershy.

"It has, I was planning on picking it up then coming back here when I was done, that way I might catch a bit near the end." She responded.

"That sounds good with me. Any objections Blaze?" Twilight asked me.

"Sounds fine, although I don't know how interesting this will be later." I said, looking over at Fluttershy. She smiled and then turned back towards the gate, back out into the rain. We watched her go, before Twilight looked back at me and spoke.

"So Blaze, do you have any questions before we start?" She asked cheerfully.

"Well... How hard do you think this will be?" I said apprehensively. She got a thoughtful look on her face, then she responded.

"I guess it depends on how much of an inclination for magic you have. I mean, some ponies find it easier than others." She said. I nodded slowly, considering what she had said. After a few seconds, she began her lesson.

"Now, when it comes to magic, to most important thing is focus. If you find you're having a hard time with something, don't let your nerves get to you, because that will just make it harder. Find somewhere nice and quiet, free from other distractions." She looked at me intently, and I nodded.

"Next, when you're doing spells, simple ones at least, all that's involved is imagining what you want to happen. Imagine power flowing from you, through your horn, to do whatever task it is you want. Eventually, you won't think of it quite so literally, but for now that'll do." She said, glancing out into the courtyard with worry. I thought about what she said for a few moments before speaking.

"So, if I wanted to levitate, say, that rock, I would imagine it floating and channel my power into that thought?" I nodded over at a small rock that was sitting next to us. She smiled and nodded, backing up to give me space. I looked at the rock, then back at her. She nodded encouragingly, and I again switched my attention to the rock. I closed my eyes, holding the image of the rock in my mind. For an agonizing few seconds, I couldn't ignore the sounds of the rain splattering on the ground next to me, but I soon blocked that out.

Next, I imagined the rock slowly rising into the air. As I did, I began to do my best to channel energy into that idea. I focused intently, to the complete ignorance of everything else, even breathing. After a few more terrifying seconds, I heard Twilight speak again.

"Yes, that's it! You're getting it!" She said happily. I peeked one eye open, and saw that it was indeed rising wobbly off the ground, surrounded by an orange field of magic. The excitement from my success broke my concentration though, and suddenly the rock shot straight up and bounced off the ceiling, cracking in half and falling to the ground. I grinned sheepishly as Twilight smiled and shook her head, grabbed another rock from the courtyard and brought it over, setting it in from of me.

"That was pretty good for a first time. This time though, don't let your excitement break your focus." She said, nodding to tell me to do it again. I closed my eyes and brought the image of the rock again into my mind. Remembering the feeling from last time, I tried to move the rock upwards.

"Yes, but keep focusing. See if you can make it less shaky. And you might as well open your eyes, you're to need them open eventually if you want to see what you're doing." She said, giggling. I slowly opened my eyes, keeping the image of the rock in my mind, but holding it still. Once I was ready again, I began to move the rock up further. I did as Twilight asked, and slowly made it shake less. Soon however, I was again at the ceiling.

"Erm, now what?" I asked, looking quickly over at her before looking back to make sure the rock was still in place.

"Now, move it down. And sideways. And wherever else you like. Just not at me!" She said with a laugh as we both remembered my first attempt. I smiled and began lowering the rock. Next, I began moving it side to side. Soon after, circles. I decided to see how far out I could make it go, so I turned to the courtyard and sent it out. After a few seconds though, I found that I had lost it in the rain.

"Erm... I think I'm going to need a new rock." I said in embarrassment, looking around on the ground for another. I saw Twilight's horn light up, but didn't think much of it until she yelled out.

"Here, catch!" She said, sending a small rock sailing quickly at me. Thinking fast, I let my human instincts take over, and my head snapped around. I saw the rock was aimed towards my shoulder, and I reached my hoof out. My reactions were rewarded with a soft thump, and I grinned when I felt the rock in my grasp. I looked over at Twilight, who had a look of mild frustration. She blinked a few times in shock, before sighing and shaking her head slowly.

"Well, that was impressive, but I was hoping you would catch it with magic." She said, looking at the rock in my hoof. My smile faded, and I apologized.

"Sorry, I haven't had a lot of experience with magic; my human instincts still seem to take priority." I said. She smiled warmly, and I could tell she wasn't really annoyed.

"Here, I'll show you what you can do with levitation magic if you work hard enough. Or, I'll try at least." She walked out into the courtyard, until she was in the middle, getting soaked by the pouring rain. I watched intently and she stood, eyes closed, deep in concentration. For almost a minute, nothing happened. Then, I saw her horn begin to glow again, until it was enveloped by a layer of magic. The rain in the courtyard seemed to slow in its descent, but I just pushed that off as part of my imagination. Suddenly, another layer of magic formed on her horn, and I realized that it wasn't my imagination, the rain was actually slowing. A grimace formed on her face, and another magic layer formed, this time accompanied by small glowing sparks. The rain around her slowed to a crawl. Then it stopped, and after a few seconds, actually began to move back up. I watched in utter awe as she forced an ever-growing sphere of rain away, forming a shield of water around us and much of the courtyard. Underneath it was dry; there was no rain left that reached the ground. Suddenly, Twilight quivered, and the outer layer of magic on her horn faltered and broke away, the pieces fading from existence. I saw cracks from in the water shield above us, and just barely heard Twilight yell 'Watch out!' before it broke, sending a huge amount of water crashing to the ground. Just before she was hit, Twilight ducked to the ground to lessen the impact. I, however, was not so wise, and was hit by all the water that had splashed back up from the ground after it hit. In a feeling that was akin to having several buckets of water thrown at me at once, I was knocked over, landing in the pond that had formed from Twilight's spell. I got up in time to see Twilight rise shakily to her hooves, and walk back over to the overhang with me. She smiled, the exhaustion clearly evident on her face. I smiled back, looking around at all the water before responding.

"That was incredible! I never even imagined that would be possible! But... what do we do with all this water?" I asked, looking at the ever-persistent pond.

"That's a good question. Erm... Would you please go warn the guards at the gate? I think I'll just send it out that way." I nodded, and splashed over to the stairs. I clambered up, and found myself at the gate again. The guards jumped in surprise, but quickly regained their composure.

"I'm here to warn you that there's about to be a lot of water coming through, we seem to have run out of space in the courtyard." The guards looked at each other in confusion, until they saw the water that was pouring up the stairs and over to the gate. They scooted out of the way of the gate, and I turned just in time to be hit in the face with a hundred gallons of water for the second time today.

* * *

We had finally gotten all the water out, and the rain had actually started to let up when Fluttershy came back. Twilight had been helping me practice my precision by having me hit targets that were further and further away, and I was taking a break. Fluttershy walked up wearing a pair of saddlebags, each of which appeared to have a package in them. I jumped up in excitement when I saw her, and immediately started talking about our 'adventures' with the water, with particular emphasis on Twilight's spell.

"And look what I can do now!" I said, looking around for something to use my magic on. I spotted hoof sized stone next to one of the support columns, and decided it would work. I closed my eyes for a moment, focusing on the stone. I opened my eyes again and brought the stone over, until it was floating in-between Fluttershy and I. I then sent it around in a circle in the air, then I put it down again. I heard a giggle from behind me, and looked over to see Twilight holding a hoof over her mouth, trying to keep from bursting out laughing.

"What's so funny!?" I demanded, wondering why she was laughing at me.

"You're like a little colt, since you're new to magic, and the way you're so excited is funny." She said, grinning and shaking her head again. I glowered at her a little before Fluttershy interrupted.

"I think it's very nice Blaze. That seems like a huge improvement from not even knowing you had a horn a few days ago! I'm proud of you." She said, defending me. I blushed a little and said 'Thanks' quietly before another giggle sounded from Twilight and she spoke up.

"You two are adorable. But Fluttershy is right; you have made huge improvements Blaze. We'll have to get together for more magic training sometime." This time it was Fluttershy's turn to blush. I smiled and nodded in agreement, silently wondering if all of her magic involved as much cleanup after. Suddenly a thought dawned on me, and I wanted to face-hoof.

"Uhm, I never actually thought about this before, but... Where am I staying tonight? I uh... I can't exactly afford a hotel yet." I said, looking from Twilight to Fluttershy and back again. The two mares looked at each other, and I got the feeling they hadn't thought about it either. A few seconds full of blank stares later, Fluttershy spoke quietly.

"Well, the room that Princess Celestia provided for me is pretty large. You could uh..." She blushed deeply. "You could stay with me... I mean, unless Twilight has a better idea..." She looked away; clearly embarrassed at the idea but feeling she had to offer anyway. I looked over at Twilight, who nodded and responded.

"I'm afraid there are no more spare rooms in the castle right now, so that seems like it would be the best option. Are you sure though, Fluttershy? I mean, all things considered, you don't actually know him that well. He seems pretty trustworthy, but you never know... No offense intended, of course." She finished off looking at me, and I just shrugged it off. Fluttershy looked up in determination, and she responded confidently.

"I trust Blaze, far more than I trusted Discord at least, and I let him stay with me. That turned out well in the end, so how badly can this go?" She said with a small laugh.

"No exactly the best example, but if you're sure, it's your choice I guess. But remember Blaze, I'm watching you..." Twilight picked up one of the buckets of water that was still sitting around, and glared threateningly. After a few seconds, she began laughing, and soon all three of us were giggling, remembering how many times I had gotten soaked during my training. I held out my hoof, pretending to hold her away.

"I'll be good, you can be sure out that. There's no way I would do anything to Fluttershy considering how nice she's been to me these past few days." I said solemnly. Twilight nodded, and I turned back to Fluttershy.

"Now where to? I assume you're going home tomorrow, now that you've gotten what you need. It's about 4:30, so I doubt you'd be leaving tonight, but I don't know." I said, looking at her expectantly.

"First, I was thinking of dropping some things off at my room, but after maybe we could take a walk around Canterlot? I didn't get to show you much when it was raining, but it should be more fun now." She said, looking at me brightly.

"Sounds like a good time! Thank you so much for your help Twilight, I would never have figured all that out and seen some awesome magic without your help." I said gratefully, turning to look at Twilight.

"You are welcome. I hope we meet again sometime soon. And don't forget to keep practicing. Now if you'll both excuse me, I should be returning to my royal duties." She sighed and took off into the sky. I watched her go, wondering what it would be like to have wings. I shook off my curiosity and motioned for Fluttershy to lead the way, and soon we were off, in search of Fluttershy's room. The castle was huge; we had to go through several doors and up several more flights of stairs before we arrived. She grabbed a key from one of her bags, and unlocked the door. She paused before she opened it, turning to me.

"I'm sorry for the mess, I... I haven't been tidying up as much as I should." She said as she opened the door. She walked in, and I followed her through. Pausing once I was in, I looked around. I did a double-take a what I saw, for Fluttershy's idea of 'A mess' apparently meant some clothing on the floor on one side, a few boxes on the other, and an un-made bed.

"I... I know, it's pretty bad. I'm sorry." She said, hanging her head in shame. I smiled, and laughed.

"Seriously, this doesn't even begin to describe bad. My mother would have..." I trailed off, my smile fading as I remembered what had happened. Shaking it off in an attempt not to start crying again, I finished my sentence.

"She would have been ecstatic if I had ever kept my room this clean." I looked down at the ground, unsure of what to do next. To my surprise, I felt Fluttershy nuzzle me, and I looked over to see her standing next to me, a caring look on her face.

"I'm really sorry. If it helps, I bet she would be happy to know that you're still thinking of her, and that you still care." She smiled a little, and made it very difficult to be sad. I smiled back, admiring her ability to spread happiness.

"Thanks, I'm sure she would." I said. I looked around the room again, and I noticed that other then the bathroom, this was the only room, and it was devoid of furniture other then the bed and a small dresser. Realizing what that would mean, I blushed a tiny bit, much to Fluttershy's confusion.

"Is... Is there something wrong Blaze?" She asked curiously.

"No, nothing really. Erm... Where am I sleeping? Usual I'm fine on a couch or something to that degree, but there doesn't appear to be any other furniture." I said, still blushing.

"Well, I... I had assumed we would share the bed, but if you want, I can certainly sleep on the floor for tonight." She said, looking over at the bed, then back to me.

"No, I couldn't have you offer your room for me to stay in, then make you sleep on the floor. And I probably shouldn't sleep on the floor either, considering my side hasn't fully healed yet. So... I guess sharing the bed will be fine. But let's worry about that later. If you're done here, we should head back out before it gets dark." I said, swallowing my embarrassment. She nodded and grabbed a small bag, very similar in design to a purse, which she put on over her head so that it hung down her right side over her shoulder. She nodded, and I walked over to the door. I held it open for her, and with a laugh she walked through. Before I got to ask about the door lock, she had already started answering.

"Don't worry about locking the door; it automatically locks whenever you close it." She said, and I closed my mouth. After shutting the door carefully behind us, I followed Fluttershy back out of the castle. The sun was getting lower in the sky, and was two or three hours from setting. I looked down just in time to avoid running into Fluttershy again, and had to make a mental note that when going on a walk for fun, I needed to walk slower or I would run into things. As we go further into the city itself, I saw how it looked far more beautiful when it was not raining.

* * *

"Ah yes, we made it. Usual I'm alone, and I can just fly up to this point. This is where I like to sit and watch Celestia's sunsets. And I think we're just in time!" Fluttershy had shown me all around the city, from her favorite places for tea to the parks she likes to sit and read in. We had stopped back by the library, and to our mutual amazement, Quilted Page had actually cleaned up the entire pile. Now, Fluttershy and I were on our last stop, which she said was her favorite place in the city. It was a quiet balcony high above much of the city, on one of the high-rise buildings. The sun was quite close to setting now, and the sky had just started to turn from blue to orange. Wordlessly, we both sat down on a bench to watch the sunset. Fluttershy had picked a good place, the view was breathtaking. A pony could see the land far below stretch on for miles and miles, until it reached the horizon, where the sun now gracefully lay, setting. Not a word passed between us the whole time, for neither of us wanted to break the perfection. The sky was burnt the color of autumn leaves, with streaks of blue dashing in at the edges. Further behind, the darkness of night had started to creep in, like a wave of shadows that was spreading over the world. It felt like the world was on fire, and slowly the fire was burning itself out. We sat for almost half an hour before the sky was dark, and the stars had begun to shine. Only then did I speak.

"That was incredible, Fluttershy. Thank you for sharing this place with me; I can't imagine a better way to end the day." I said, looking over at her. She looked back with a smile, then responded as she stood up.

"Everything is more fun with a friend, and I felt like you were the kind of pony who would appreciate a good sunset. Some of the colors even matched your coat!" She said with a giggle. I looked at the hair covering my body, which was actually very close to the colors in the sunset. I smiled as I got up from the bench as well. We worked our way back down to the street, where Fluttershy stopped and turned to face me.

"Now, are you hungry? It's been quite a while since we last ate, and you were working pretty hard earlier." She said confidently.

"Uhm, I guess so? Ya I guess I am pretty hungry." I responded slowly.

"Then it's settled. We'll go grab dinner somewhere before we head back to the castle for the night." She said.

"Are you sure? I mean, it's very kind of you to offer, but you really don't have to keep paying for my food. I'm sure I'll be fine until tomorrow." I replied, trying in vain to change her mind. It was weird hearing her talk with such confidence.

"Quite sure. You don't eat very much, and I was planning on going out to get food anyway, so it coincides nicely." She then seemed to notice the look of shock and confusion on my face, because she shrank down a little and returned to her normal way of talking.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just trying to sound more confident, like you and my friend Rarity have been telling me to." She said quietly.

"No, it's cool; I was just a little bit surprised. I guess if you're so sure, I might as well stop arguing. Where did you want to go?" I asked, looking around for nearby restaurants.

"Um, ok. In that case, follow me." She said. We walked for a few blocks before she turned abruptly left in through the door of a little restaurant that reminded me of an Italian restaurant. As soon as we got in, and I smelled that place, I realized it was an Italian Restaurant, or at least the Equestrian equivalent.

"This place is one of my favorites. They have something called pizza here, and it's delicious. Did the human world have pizza?" She asked excitedly. A huge smile crept onto my face._ This world may be a little strange, but it has pizza. _I thought as I nodded, mouth hanging open.

"Well that's good; I can imagine somepony who has never eaten it before might find it a little odd." She said, walking over to the counter. We were only waiting for a few moments before a stallion appeared from the kitchen.

"Hello, may I take your order?" He said with a smile.

"I'll have a slice of cheese pizza with... Olives and Onions please." Fluttershy said happily.

"Nice alliteration." I said with a laugh. She looked at me in confusion, and I just shook my head with a smile.

"And you sir?" The stallion said, looking up from his note tab.

"Uh just a slice of cheese pizza, please." I said, still smiling.

"Sounds good, feel free to grab a table." He said as he disappeared back into the kitchen. Fluttershy walked over to a small nearby two-pony table and sat down. I sat down across from her to wait, but was soon bored. By the time he brought out our pizza about ten minutes later, I had already counted all the ceiling tiles and started on the walls. The pizza looked good, and tasted even better. It was gone in far too short a time, but it always is. When we were done, we got up and walked back over to the counter. Like clockwork, the stallion appeared again.

"How much will it be?" Fluttershy asked.

"Seven bits." He said. She handed him seven copper colored coins, which I cleverly deduced must be worth on bit each.

"Thank you kindly. Have a nice day!" He said as he put the coins away.

"You too!" I said as we headed out the building. Once we were out, I looked down both streets, trying to remember the way. I face-hoofed, however, when I relined that I could see the castle, and it should be pretty easy to figure out the way back. Taking the lead, I began walking back. We weren't far off, only a few blocks, and were just passing through a street that was filled with many different music-related shops. Suddenly, we heard a door open quickly and then slam closed, and looked across the street to see a light gray earth-pony mare with darker gray mane and tail storm off, back the way we had come from. Fluttershy and I looked at each other in confusion, then slowly resumed walking. Not long after, we heard the door open again, and looked back to see a white mare with a multi-shade blue mane and purple glasses run out. She appeared to scan the area in disappointment, when she saw us. She quickly ran over, and began talking rapidly.

"Hey, did you guys happen to see a gray mare wearing a pink bow-tie leave the building I just came from? She asked.

"Uh, ya. She went that way." I said slowly, pointing down the street.

"So she's probably going back to her apartment... Thanks!" She said before galloping off.

"Uhm... You're welcome? I think?" I said, seriously confused. I heard Fluttershy giggle and looked over at her, confusion persisting.

"They probably just got into a fight or something like that." She said, shaking her head in amusement.

"Ya... Probably..." I said slowly. I knew I recognized the white mare from somewhere, but I couldn't place it. Slowly, I began walking again, still deep in though. A few minutes later a realized my hooves had indeed led us back to the castle. We had finally worked our way back up to Fluttershy's room, and she was about to unlock the door when a pair of guards turned the corner at the end of the hall, deep in conversation.

"Ya, I heard she's playing at the place down the street, near the record store tonight. Wanna go after our shift's up?" The first one said, oblivious of Fluttershy and I, who had stopped and were watching him. Suddenly, something clicked in my mind. I began mentally re-tracing our path. Just before the incident with the dance club, I remembered looking over at a record store as we walked past. And on the wall, there was a poster...

"I GOT IT!" I yelled, making the two guards jump and scaring Fluttershy nearly to death.

"Uhm... You got what, exactly, sir?" The second guard asked.

"You guys are talking about DJPon3, right?" I asked quickly.

"Uh... Ya, we are. Why?" The first guard asked, a look of curiosity on his face. I spun around to face Fluttershy.

"That's who the white mare was! I knew I recognized her, but I couldn't figure out where from. I had seen her on a poster." I said to Fluttershy. The look of terror on her faced changed to understanding, and she straightened back up. The two guards looked at each other, then the first one ran over to me.

"Dude, you met DJPon3, like, outside the club?!" He asked quickly, a look of amazement on his face.

"Ya, she came over to ask a quick question, that's all though." I said.

"So then you probably didn't get her autograph or anything..." He said, the disappointment clearly showing on his face.

"No, sorry. But I know she's defiantly there tonight, and depending on how long she's out and when your shift's done, you might be able to catch her still." I said, trying to cheer him up. His face lit up again, and I could tell he agreed.

"Hey, we should really finish our rounds." The second guard said to the first, grabbing his attention again.

"Ya, sorry. Thanks!" He said to me before trotting back over to his friend. Fluttershy and I waited until they were gone again before entering her room. Suddenly, it felt like the day's activities caught up with me, and I felt exhausted.

"Hey, which side of the bed do you want?" I asked Fluttershy.

"Uhm, well, I usually like sleeping closer to the window side, but you can have whichever side you want." She said.

"This side's fine." I said, flopping down onto the side further from the window.

"Ugh, I feel like I could sleep for a moon." I said through a face-full of pillow. Fluttershy giggled as she put down her things on the dresser.

"Well, I'm afraid you'll have to get up a little sooner, if we're going to leave in time for a reasonable return to Ponyville." She said as she pulled on her pajamas. I felt her climb onto the other side of the bed, and for the first time since I arrived in Equestria, I was worried. _Am I even going to Ponyville with Fluttershy? I'd hate to leave her, and it really does sound nice there, but I'm starting to like Canterlot. That, and if I stay, I can probably get more magic training with Twilight. Oh Celestia, help me... _I though as my exhaustion took over and I fell asleep.

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**You probably just spent a half hour or so reading that, yet as I write this author's note, it's only been a few moments since I was at the top. Funny how that works. Anyway... What did you think? Is the guard going to get to talk to DJPon3? Will Blaze go with Fluttershy, or stay in Canterlot? Oh, the questions. But you'll get your answers soon enough little ones. For now, get ready to answer the review question!**

**Do you prefer cities like Canterlot, or nice small towns like Ponyville? Why?**

**Oh, and the first person to guess where I got the idea for Twilight's spell from (It's a popular cartoon), and (you don't have to get them both) the fanfic that I was inspired by for the bit with DJPon3 and Octavia will get mentioned in the next chapter! Hope that makes sense, PM me if you don't get it. Take care everypony!**


	6. Party Rock Is In The House Tonight

**Well, it's that time again everypony! I know this is technically the tenth day, as I'm uploading it at like 12:15 at night, but I'm gonna count it. Ooh! So the challenge from last time! The closest guesser was...**

**TwiLanes!**** (Their stories are pretty awesome, go check them out!)**

**It was Twi specifically (I think) and her guess was Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Now, that's not wrong by any means, but here's the exact answer:**

**Spoiler alert(ish)!**

**In the third season/book, there is an episode called the southern raiders, where Katara performs an amazing bit of waterbending very, very similar to Twilight's spell. That's where it came from, exactly.**

**Now, on to this chapter. It's another record breaker, I'm gonna spoil you guys. It clocks in at around 7.5K words in nine days. Personally, I think that's impressive. I know you're anxious to read it, so I'll shut up. Oh, one more thing! When you finish reading, post a review saying what you think, what I did wrong, answer the review question, and then go check out TwiLanes. Seriously, do it.**

**It's future me again! Hi! Anyway, you know the drill.**

**The view count is 1004**

**The review question from chapter 5 was: _"_****Do you prefer cities like Canterlot, or nice small towns like Ponyville?**** Why?" And the answers I chose were:**

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******TwiLanes:**

_******"As for my town preference, I think it varies. I like the city because everything's always bustling, and I like to be busy. But I also like to know everyone, and peace and quiet is always good once in a while. So, it depends."**_

******DrKeo:**

_******"I have to say small town living, but nothing will ever beat country living!"**_

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******I've never actually been to a large city, so I can't say, but they sound cool. But anyway, this is the last chapter you'll have to deal with my time traveling author's notes (For now...)**

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After a long time of restless tossing and turning, around one in the morning I finally fell into a deep sleep. Several hours later, which I decided was not enough time, I was slowly awoken to the sound of Fluttershy packing. I lay in the bed for a few minutes, dreading the end of my chance to sleep, before finally I opened my eyes and sat up. Fluttershy had almost finished with the room; there was only a few pieces of clothing left is the dresser, and one empty bag. As she walked over to grab the bag, she noticed I was awake.

"Oh, um, I hope I didn't wake you up." She said apologetically. I blinked a few times, then yawned and stretched before responding.

"Nah, it was about time for me to get up anyway." I said with a smile, clambering carefully off the bed. She smiled back as she grabbed the bag and walked over to the dresser to begin packing its contents up.

"The truth is, I'm glad you're up. I'd hate to have to be the one to wake you up, but it's almost time to go if we don't want to be late for the train." She said as she gathered everything up and stuffed it haphazardly into the bag. My smile faded as I thought about what I was going to say next to her.

"Well, you see, the thing is..." I trailed off, not sure how to word what I wanted to say next. She looked over at me happily, but when she saw the look on my face, hers was replaced by one of worry.

"What's wrong, Blaze?" She asked, coming over to me. I opened my mouth, about to speak, but then I stopped to think again. _Why am I giving up a friend like her, just for a chance at a sophisticated life, and the ability to learn about magic? Why, when the best part of this world is the ponies that live in it, am I choosing something other than the ponies?_ Suddenly, I made up my mind and looked confidently up at Fluttershy, much to her confusion.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm glad I got up on time. Need any help?" I said cheerfully, causing her to blink a few times and continue to stare worriedly.

"Are you sure? I mean... I guess you don't know me super well, but I'd be happy to listen if you have a problem you want to talk about. She said caringly.

"I just wasn't sure I wanted to go to Ponyville, but, when I thought about it, I just couldn't leave you." I said, looking into her eyes. She blushed a deep red and looked away quickly, but with a small smile on her face.

"Well, I, Uh... I'm glad you're coming." She said, still looking away. I laughed and looked around the room. There were four bags total, including the one that Fluttershy had left at the dresser. As I looked back over at Fluttershy, who had at this point headed back over to the dresser in question and grabbed the bag.

"Do we need to stop anywhere else, or is it straight to the train?" I asked following her over to the bags.

"I didn't have anywhere else planned, but if there's somewhere you'd like to stop first, that's certainly fine as long as it's quick, we don't have a ton of spare time." She said, trying to grab all of the bags unsuccessfully. I coughed conspicuously, but when she failed to notice I was forced to speak up.

"You know, there are two of us." I said with a chuckle. She continued to try to balance all the bags in her hooves, but to no avail.

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to carry my luggage, that wouldn't be fair." She said as she finally got them all stacked up. I watched the stack slowly tip over, and right as it was about to fall I grabbed the smaller bag with my magic and the larger one with my front legs.

"Well then it's a good thing I'm not waiting for you to ask. And besides, I wouldn't be a very good friend if I made you struggle all on your own." I said, settling the big bag on my back. She smiled as she grabbed the two remaining bags.

"Thanks Blaze, I don't know where I'd be without you." She said with a short laugh.

"Since you probably would have left yesterday, I'd say back in Ponyville!" I said as we headed out the door. She chuckled as we made our way down the stairs and out into the courtyard, where it was significantly drier then when I that saw it. The train station wasn't too far from the castle, about a two minute walk from the gate. As we were nearing the station, a stallion that I soon recognized as the guard from last night, now off-duty, approached us.

"Hey, so I rushed out as soon as I could last night after I talked with you, and I actually caught DJPon3 right as she was heading back to the club, and I even got her autograph!" He said as he held up a record with 'To my #1 fan - DJPon3' scrawled across the label.

"Awesome! I'm glad you were able to get there in time!" I said with a grin. Fluttershy laughed as the guard and I started chatting away about music. After a few minutes though, she quietly interrupted.

"I uh... I don't want to be rude, but we should really be heading for the train, Blaze." She said, looking over at the train sitting in the station. I nodded and waved goodbye to the guard as we walked over.

"All aboard the train for Ponyville! Have your tickets ready please!" A stallion shouted from the platform.

"Oh no, I totally forgot, I don't even have a ticket! What am I gonna do?!" I said, panicking. Fluttershy smiled and rolled her eyes, reaching into her bag. She pulled out two tickets and waved them in front of me. I blushed a little and grinned in embarrassment.

"I probably should have known you would have taken care of that." I said. She nodded as we walked up to the stallion that was checking tickets. Fluttershy handed him the tickets, and he glanced quickly at them.

"Yup, looks all set. Have a nice trip!" He said, handing them back.

"Thanks!" Fluttershy said as we boarded the train. We headed towards the back, to a quieter part of the train and sat down. A few minutes later, we were on our way. Unfortunately, for most of the trip we were on the wrong side to see much of a view other than the cliff face. After about half an hour, we came out onto a bridge-like path that we could see out of. It wasn't as high up as the castle had been, but the view was still impressive. We quickly descended to ground level, before coming into the Ponyville station.

"How are you with parties, and surprises?" Fluttershy asked as we gathered up her bags again and worked our way towards the exit.

"Well, surprises are fine, and I don't really know about parties, I was never invited to one back in the human world." I said sadly. A thought then occurred to me.

"Why?" I asked in reference to her question. I put on a face of mild disbelief as we exited the train. When we got outside, I took a quick glance around. What I saw shocked me. I had expected a sparse collection of small, boring buildings. What I actually saw were tightly packed streets filled with ponies, and almost every building was different, built in its own style, but all melding together as a cohesive whole. Focusing on closer objects, I noticed something bright pink out of the corner of my eye. I looked over to see a pony with seriously curly mane and tail, which sported a very similar color to her body, bouncing happily on the station, looking around as though waiting for someone. When she spotted us, or as I later decided, Fluttershy, she ran over, and in the blink of an eye, she had Fluttershy in a death grip hug.

"Oh my goodness, I missed you so much Fluttershy! I know it was only, like, five days, but it just felt like forever without my bestest buddy around!" She said, almost too quickly for me to understand. When she saw me, she gasped and let go of Fluttershy, and I got the feeling I would need to pay attention again.

"Oh my gosh, I don't think I've ever met you before! Are you a friend of Fluttershy's? If I never met you before, that means I don't know you. And if I don't know you, that means I've never seen you before! And that means you surely haven't had a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party yet! Which means... PARTY!" She said, dashing back off into town. I was going to point out that she could have skipped a few steps, but she was gone long before I could say it. Instead, I looked over at Fluttershy, shook my head, and laughed.

"I guess I understand now." I said. She smiled and headed into town.

"I'm sure we'll get our invitations in a few hours. For now, we should start by dropping off this stuff at my house. We'll figure out what to do after that, well, after that!" She said with a chuckle. I smiled and followed her through town. Her house was a little cottage in the woods, set a small distance away from Ponyville, likely because of the animals. She grabbed the house key out of her bag and unlocked the door. Immediately she was greeted by a variety of happy animals, who chattered, squawked, and meowed at her, and to whom she responded readily. She disappeared inside her house, leaving me standing outside with her other bags, slightly confused. A few seconds later, her head poked back around the door, looking at me curiously.

"Aren't you going to come inside, Blaze? I mean, I'm sure all these critters will be extra nice, since you're a new guest." She said, with the last part more directed to the animals then to me.

"Oh, well, uh, I didn't just want to enter your house without asking, and you left before I could ask..." I mumbled as I walked inside. To my amazement, it was actually really nice inside, not a mess of animal habitation as I had expected. Sure, there were animals everywhere, but I expected that. Looking over at Fluttershy, I saw that she had put her bags next to the doorway to the kitchen, and I put the two I had there as well.

"So you really live here? I imagine it's difficult to do things like, I dunno, sleep with all this chaos." I said with a laugh. Suddenly, a tiny white rabbit hopped up and sat in front of me with a glare. I scowled back at him, then laughed.

"You can't deny it; even you see how it's pretty crazy in here." I said to him, not thinking about it. He rolled his eyes and hopped off, clearly not content with my answer but too lazy to persist. I live looked over at Fluttershy again, whose jaw was almost on the floor.

"What did I do? Did I step on somepony?" I said, checking the bottoms of my hooves.

"No! It's just... You can understand them? You know what they're saying?" She asked, obviously infatuated with my newfound ability.

"I mean, I guess. I don't really hear words, just... Ideas. Emotions, expressions, basic stuff, just enough that I could tell I insulted him." I said apologetically. She shook her head quickly.

"That's still amazing! I... I've never seen another pony with ability even close to either of us. And that fact that we happened to meet, by chance... That's pretty impressive. I know you're going to fit in just fine around here." She said, blushing a little at the end.

"I take it you wouldn't mind having me around then?" I asked teasingly. She blushed even more, and I laughed a little. I knew it was kinda mean, but she was just so adorable when she blushed, and the way she smiled, I wasn't sure she really minded.

"So, uh, speaking of which... Did you guys happen to plan where I can stay until I find a job and can get an apartment?" I asked, wondering if such a thing was even available here in Ponyville. She had almost turned back to a normal color, but when she heard my question, she turned bright red again.

"Well, I, Uh... I have a, um, an extra bedroom. You could, uh, stay... With... Me?" She said quietly, stumbling over some of the words. I blushed too, at the thought of living with another pony, let alone a mare, LET ALONE Fluttershy. I mean, I was rather fond of the idea, but...

"Are... Are you sure? I wouldn't want to invade your privacy even more than I have been recently." I said, looking away.

"Well... I, uh, I really enjoy your company, and if you can understand animals, at least a little, then maybe you can help me with some of my animal things, and maybe discover your special talent." She said, nodding at my blank flank.

"Sure you won't die of awkwardness?" I asked with a giggle, trying to lighten the mood. She smiled and laughed.

"I won't if you don't." She said confidently.

"Well then I guess it's settled. Fluttershy, I would be most grateful to accept your offer. Thank you." I said happily. She smiled warmly, and I realized she really did enjoy my company.

"So, uh, when do you think that bouncy pink pony is planning the party for? And come to think of it, who is she?" I asked, since she had come and gone so fast I never got to ask.

"Oh! That's my friend Pinkie Pie. She's pretty much in charge of Ponyville's happiness. She throws parties, surprises, and general cheerfulness. She lives in a bakery in town, called Sugarcube Corner. I know she seems weird right now, but I think she's a really nice pony." She said, defending her friend.

"Nah, it's cool, I was just wondering, since she sorta failed to tell me." I said apologetically.

"Oh, ok. Well if I know Pinkie, she's going to try to have it ready as soon as possible. So I suspect she'll be by in an hour or so, and the party will probably start early this evening. Don't worry about it though; Pinkie never forgets to tell people in a timely fashion." Fluttershy said, heading towards the kitchen.

"Are you hungry? I usually don't eat much in the morning, but I know not everypony is like me." She said.

"Actually, I'm the same way. But thanks!" I said with a smile. I glanced over at the clock, which I had been sure to locate quickly this time, for fear of appearing incapable. It showed 10:37, and that meant that we still had most of the day before the party. I looked over at Fluttershy, who at this point was playing with the white bunny from earlier. Not wanting to interrupt, for fear of facing bunny-wrath, I simply sat down where I was and listened to all the animals nearby. To the ear, nothing could be discerned amongst the endless chatter. In my mind though, I could tell that they were all very happy that Fluttershy was back, as that seemed to mean the food quality would go back up, but they were also fairly apprehensive of me, as was evident by the fact that they all avoided me, discounting the one bunny. Suddenly, a few minds got much louder than the others, and I opened my eyes to see a family of mice standing in front of me. I could tell that they were worried they wouldn't get Fluttershy's full attention anymore, and they were coming to see how much trouble I would cause. They didn't; however, seem to know that I could understand their rudimentary thoughts. I slowly reached out my hoof, while talking to them.

"Hey little ones. I promise I won't steal her away, she's still all yours. She's just giving me a place to stay, for now." I said. The mice looked at me in shock, and I felt their surprise in my mind. The largest of the bunch sniffed my hoof, then scampered up onto my leg, worked his way up, and sat on my shoulder. I could tell he was pleased with his achievement. The others looked at each other, then suddenly ran off. I looked over at the mouse on my shoulder.

"I wonder where they're off to in such a hurry." I said. I got an image of a group of animals around me, which I assumed meant that they were telling the others I was ok. I laughed to myself as suddenly the mice came back, this time with many other animals following. I smiled and thought: _Ya, I can definitely see myself fitting in around here._

* * *

It was almost two hours later when Fluttershy came back into the main room from her chores. She had been getting everything back in order, cleaned, and organized, while I entertained the animals. My buddy the mouse was still on my shoulder, although I could tell he was getting bored.

"Come on little ones, it's lunch time! Since I was gone so long, I made you an extra special meal." Fluttershy said, hooves full of various serving containers. She put down the food dishes, each one in front of their respective animal groups, until she had only one left. She looked around, trying to find its owner.

"Angel! I have your lunch!" She yelled, when suddenly the bunny from earlier showed up. She handed him the bowl, which he began to scrutinize very carefully.

"They had one bag left of the special jungle lettuce you wanted in Canterlot, and I got it for you, so that I could make this exactly as you wanted. So won't you please eat it?" She begged. Angel continued inspecting it for a few more moments before briskly nodding and sitting down to eat. I heard a long, satisfied sigh from Fluttershy as she walked over.

"That one's fussy I take it?" I asked, chuckling. She rolled her eyes.

"Goodness, I love him to bits, but sometimes... His food has to be exactly perfect or he won't eat it." She said with a tense laugh.

"Then it's a good thing he has you! I'd probably never get it right..." I said, looking at the finely crafted salad Angel was eating.

"I'm sure you'd do fine. Now that I'm done here, how about we go see the rest of Ponyville? I can give you a tour like I did in Canterlot." She offered her hoof to help me up. With a grin, I grabbed her hoof and she helped pull me up onto my legs.

"Sounds good!" I said enthusiastically. We headed out of her house, careful not to attract too much attention from the animals, and quietly closed the door behind us. When we turned away from the house, we both nearly died of surprise, because where there was not perhaps five seconds ago, there was now a Pinkie Pie.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry I scared you; I was just coming to say hi! Have I said it yet? Hi! Oh, right, and I also wanted to tell you that there's gonna be the most awesomest 'Welcome to Ponyville' Party EVER for Blaze here at Sugarcube corner at 8:00 sharp, and I was hoping you could attend! 'Cause it'd be a super silly 'Welcome to Ponyville' party if the pony we wanted to welcome wasn't there!" She said, bouncing the whole time. I watched her in concern.

"Oh! Of course we'll be there Pinkie! We wouldn't miss one of your 'Welcome to Ponyville' parties; we wouldn't be very welcoming then!" Fluttershy said happily. I had a burning question for Pinkie though.

"I have to ask, how did you know my name? Because I don't think I ever told you..." I said, looking at her in doubt.

"Uh... Lucky guess?" She said, with a look that suggested she had no clue herself. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"Ya, we'll be there. I can't wait to see one of the legendary Pinkie Pie Parties!" I said, and she looked like she was about to explode with pride.

"I won't let you down! Now I got a party to go set up!" She said, before bouncing back down the road.

"Nice alliteration." Fluttershy said, causing me to look over in confusion. I then remembered the incident at the pizza place, and I burst out laughing. She jumped in surprise, but then she started giggling too. After a few seconds, the moment passed, and we started our trip back into Ponyville. It didn't take long before we entered the outskirts of the town. The first place we stopped was the library, where Twilight lived before she moved back to Canterlot. It was tiny compared to the one in Canterlot, but it felt far more inviting and homely. It was, however, in a bit of a mess, which Fluttershy explained was because the town hasn't found a replacement for Twilight to run the library yet. We stayed there for a few minutes while I looked through some of the books, then we moved on.

"Where to next?" I asked as we exited the library.

"Well, the next closest place is the boutique, where my friend Rarity works. Although I should warn you now, she may try, and probably succeed in getting us to model for her clothing making. Especially you though, she doesn't get as many male... Subjects for working from, as fewer come in her store." She said.

"I'll keep that in mind." I said as we walked off to the boutique. It was only a few minutes away, closer to the center of Ponyville. As we approached, I took note of the building's radically different architecture, which is probably why it stood alone from other buildings. As Fluttershy pushed open the door, a small bell rang at the top of the door.

"Be right with you, darling!" Somepony said, their voice floating down from the upper level.

"Don't worry about it! It's just us!" Fluttershy called back. We heard the pony above pause, then hurriedly finish what they were doing and come trotting quickly down. The mare in question was perfectly white, with a finely groomed purple mane and tail. She was, by usual standards, beautiful. A simple, refined beauty, but beautiful all the same. She looked over at me in surprise, by then changed her attention back to Fluttershy, hugging her tightly.

"Oh, I missed you so much Fluttershy! Going out for tea isn't nearly as much fun when one is by one's self. However, you must tell me, who is this dashing young stallion? A 'Friend' of yours?" The mare asked, with a wink and a playful nudge. Both Fluttershy and I turned a deep shade of red, and she stammered out introductions.

"N- No! He's j- just a friend! Rarity, this is Blazing Star. Blaze, this is my friend Rarity." She said, and I swallowed awkwardly and tried shake away my embarrassment.

"Nice to meet you, Rarity." I said, holding out my hoof to shake hers.

"Oh, you're too much like Applejack. A friend of Fluttershy's is a friend of mine." She said, hugging me too. I struggled with whether or not to reciprocate, but fortunately, she let go quickly. She took a step back and faced us both.

"So, what brings you two to my fabulous Boutique today? Need outfits for something?" She asked, suggestively but not outwardly so. Fluttershy didn't seem to pick up on it, so I let it go.

"I was just giving Blaze a tour of Ponyville, and I figured this was an important place to visit." Fluttershy said with a smile. Rarity nodded, and gestured to the various displays around the lower level.

"Please, feel free to browse around; I've developed some wonderful new lines recently. Please, do excuse me though, I have a large order that I should be finishing." She said, bowing her head apologetically.

"Oh, please do! We wouldn't want you being late!" Fluttershy said, and I nodded in agreement. Rarity said her thanks and headed back upstairs to finish her work.

"I guess we're safe today." Fluttershy said with a small laugh. I grinned in response and looked around. There were several racks, and a handful of mannequins with outfits on them for more realistic display. One common theme that stood out though, was that nearly all of the clothing had gems on it.

"I take it the gems are the reason for her cutie mark, then." I said, making the connection.

"That's right. She does beautiful work without them, but they're her specialty." Fluttershy said, inspecting one of the simpler looking dresses. A few moments later, she walked back over to me.

"Sorry, we can head back out, if you'd like." Fluttershy said.

"No rush, I'm just not the fancy clothing type. If you want to stay and look at things, I'll be fine." I responded.

"I can look some other time." She said, and we headed back out of the Boutique. We only walked a few more blocks before Fluttershy halted again. She pointed across the street, to a brightly colored building that looked like it was inspired by a gingerbread house.

"Let me guess, Sugarcube Corner?" I asked with a smile and Fluttershy nodded. There were already signs of a party being set up.

"I think we can probably skip there for now, after all we're going to see plenty of it later. I was thinking we should go Sweet Apple Acres next. Unless you really want to stop here, that's fine too." She said, looking over at me.

"No, that makes sense. Lead the way to Sweet Apple Acres!" I said, looking at back at her with a smile. She nodded and we were on our way again. This time, we were walking for a fair amount longer, as the farm was a distance away from the town. As we approached, I could smell the apples, and my mouth started watering. Swallowing and keeping my mouth shut tightly, we walked through the gate and into the farm. There were rows and rows of apple trees, spanning out as far as the eye could see in almost every direction. Not far from the gate, there was a large, classic style red barn. Suddenly, a bright orange mare towing a cart of apples turned the corner. She appeared not to see us, and she parked next to two large bulkhead doors in the ground, opened them, and began carrying crates of apples down the stairs to put into storage. A few seconds later she appeared again, grabbed another crate, and disappeared into the ground again. Fluttershy and I walked up and watched her unload all the apple crates. After her last trip, she finally took notice of us.

"Howdy Fluttershy; Sir." She said, tipping her hat in greeting.

"Hello Applejack. I hope we're not slowing you down, I was just showing Blaze around Ponyville, and there was no way we were skipping Sweet Apple Acres." Fluttershy said happily. Applejack nodded, then she suddenly recognized me.

"Wait... Y'all're that stallion that fell out of the sky a few days ago, aren't ya?" I smiled and nodded, holding out my hoof. To my satisfaction, Applejack actually shook it.

"Yes, my name is Blazing Star. I hear you and your sister Applebloom are pretty much the reason I'm alive today. Thank you. I will forever be in your debt." I said, bowing slightly. She waved it off.

"Don't ya fret about it none, anypony would have done the same, mah sis' and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, mainly because ya nearly hit the farm." Applejack said. I picked my head up in surprise.

"If... If you're not too busy, do you think... You could show me where I landed? I mean, if not, that's fine." I asked slowly. She thought about it for a second, then nodded.

"I was just about to go on mah lunch break; I think I can manage a quick detour." Applejack said, turning towards the rows of apple trees. I paused for a moment, looking at Fluttershy.

"You don't have to come, if you don't want to. I'll be quick, I just... I need to see for myself." I said. She looked into my eyes, perhaps searching for something. After a second, she responded.

"No, I'd like to come, if you're ok with that. I want to see as well, and you shouldn't have to remember... That without a friend by your side." Fluttershy said, smiling slightly. I felt tears began to form in my eyes, and I quickly hugged Fluttershy. She was surprised, but hugged me back. It only lasted a few seconds, as I knew Applejack would be waiting, but it was enough.

"Thank you, Fluttershy. I couldn't have asked for a better friend then you." I said as I began to follow Applejack. Fluttershy quickly fell into step just slightly behind me, and before long we were at the edge if a dark, imposing forest. There was a path cut into it, which we entered. In a surprisingly short amount of time, we were at the clearing. It was almost exactly as I remembered it, although a little muddier from the recent rain. Applejack and Fluttershy stayed at the edge, but I walked in to the circle. I looked around, awash with emotions. The trees were burned, broken, and generally destroyed. The ground was torn up; a fair amount of dirt was pushed away from the center. Across the clearing, where the rest if the trail should have been, trees now covered. I collapsed down to my knees when I reached the center, and began to cry foe what felt like the hundredth time that week. This was the closest I would ever be to my mother and father, who had been killed in a world so far away it might as well not exist. I heard Applejack start uneasily over, but Fluttershy quietly stopped her. I heard her murmur something, and Applejack grumbled in reply. A few more minutes, and I heard them talk again, followed by the sound of hoof-falls slowly fading away, then a set getting much closer. Suddenly, Fluttershy appeared next to me, and also settled down on her knees. She nuzzled me caringly, then sat next to me comfortingly while I finished crying.

"I promise I won't do this too many more times." I said with a weak laugh after a long time.

"Don't worry about it. You should never stop feeling, and I will never stop being here when you need me." She said, still sitting so close we were touching when one of us breathed in. We sat there in each other's company for a few more minutes, before I shakily began to get up. Fluttershy quickly followed, and within a moment, we were both on our hooves.

"Well, I think I'm done with this place, so I'll be heading out." I said. Fluttershy nodded and quickly followed me out of the clearing. I remembered the first time I traveled this path, and how gruelingly long it had felt when I was bleeding to death. In reality, it was only a few hundred feet to the edge of the forest. We made our way out and back over to the barn, where Applejack was just reaching with another load of apples. This time, she saw us immediately, and she looked as if she had been waiting for us.

"So ya'll have taken care of your business then?" She asked, in reference to the fact that we were finally back.

"Yes, I'm all done. Sorry about taking your time, but..." I started, looking at my hooves. She held up her hoof, cutting me off.

"Don't worry about it, whatever your reason for going was yours alone, no need to share." She said. I smiled thankfully and stopped talking. Applejack grabbed one of the cases and brought it down into the storage, then came and got another, until she was left with one partial crate.

"Want an apple? I was just going to bring these in to turn into pie, but if you'd like you can have some." She said, gesturing towards the crate. Fluttershy shook her head, but I nodded, realizing how hungry I was. Applejack tossed me an apple, which I gratefully began eating. Applejack grabbed the crate and turned towards the farmhouse, then paused and turned back to us.

"Well, it was nice meeting ya, Blaze. Can't wait to get to know you better. And Fluttershy, good to see you again. Now if ya'll might excuse me, I have to go back to work." She said, before turning away again, and walking off. Fluttershy and I looked at each other.

"Well, it's about 1:30, and we've pretty much seen everything of importance in this town, except maybe the school and the town hall. Any ideas what you want to do now, Blaze?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, I was hoping to find some sort of job, so that I can pay for my own food, else I think I might eat you out of house and home." I said with a laugh. Fluttershy had a thoughtful look, then her face lit up.

"I know! We can stop by town hall and ask the mayor. She'll know if there's anything that needs doing." She said, and I nodded in agreement with her plan. We headed back off to Ponyville, in search of the mayor. It took Fluttershy a little longer to find the town hall, as it wasn't a place that she went to as much, but eventually we were there. We found the mayor outside, talking to a pair of official looking ponies. We stood back and waited while she finished her conversation. When she was done, we walked over.

"Um, Mrs. Mayor? Could we perhaps steal a minute or two of your time?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"Certainly, Fluttershy my dear. What do you need?" The mayor asked, looking from Fluttershy to me and back to her again.

"Well..." Fluttershy looked at me.

"I've just moved into town, and I was hoping that you might know of available jobs that need filling, as I won't last long without a source of income." I said honestly. The mayor put her hoof on her muzzle, looking thoughtful, then suddenly appeared to get an idea.

"How are you with books and organization? Because I don't know if you've seen, but the library is getting out of hand with Princess Twilight no longer living here. I'm afraid I can't offer residence, as we like to keep it free encase she does visit, but you can stop by the town hall here for your weekly paycheck. All we would really need is for you to make sure everything is in order so that everypony can find what they need." She explained. I thought about it for a few seconds, then smiled and held out my hoof. She shook it with a confused look.

"That definitely sounds like something I can manage. I'll start tomorrow!" I said happily. The mayor smiled, and even Fluttershy had a smile on her face.

"I can't wait to see the library back in order; it always was one of my favorite places. Now if you haven't anything else you need me for, I should be back to the monotony of my job..." The mayor said, looking at us both. We both nodded, and she walked off, over to another group of important looking ponies.

"I'm so glad she was able to find a job you liked, Blaze." Fluttershy said. I nodded, thinking about how I was going to organize my time now. I would probably get up fairly early, that had never been a problem for me before, head to the library for several hours, then I would pretty much have the rest of the day to do as I pleased.

"Ya, I can't wait to be able to but you lunch, instead of the opposite!" I said with a laugh. She blushed slightly, but smiled anyway. We then wandered back off into town, to see if we could find a way to spend the next six hours.

* * *

It was nearing eight now, and Fluttershy and I were on our way to Sugarcube Corner for the party. It was getting darker, but it was still bright enough out to see without difficulty on the road from Fluttershy's house. Once we got into town, it was easy to find our way again, because the music could be heard a fair distance out, and various colored lights could be seen flashing not long after. We rounded the corner to a very party-fied Sugarcube Corner. There were balloons, streamers, ribbon, lights, everything a pony could want. There was also quite a crowd, as it looked like much of the party was set up outside. We worked our way through the crowd until we found Pinkie, who was mixing something in the punch bowl, or perhaps just mixing it. She jumped in excitement when she saw us, and yelled out to everypony else that was there.

"Ok everypony! Our special guest is here, you know what to do!" She yelled, grinning. She appeared to count something off, and suddenly from every direction ponies yelled out.

"WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!" They yelled, much to my amazement. I waved, and everypony cheered. With a smile on my face, I turned back to Pinkie, who was now drinking punch through a straw, out of a balloon bowl. I shook it off, and decided on a spur-of-the-moment hug, much to her surprise.

"Thanks for making my first party one I'll never forget." I said happily.

"Aww, I'd never plan a boring party, silly! Especially not for one of my new bestest friends!" She said happily, hugging me back. Suddenly she pulled another balloon out of somewhere, and handed it to me.

"Feel free to have some punch, it's extra good tonight!" She said, bouncing off into the crowd to mingle. I shook my head and laughed, turning to look at Fluttershy, who was still partially hiding behind me.

"Well, I guess we should start with that, then." I looked over at the punch table. There were two large bowls of punch, a blue one and a red one. The blue bowl much getting much closer to empty, although I had no doubt Pinkie would refill it. The red bowl, however, was still much closer to full. I decided to help balance them out, and grabbed my punch from the red bowl. Skipping the straw, I slurped it out of the bowl directly. It was really good, but there was some undertone to it that was really potent, something quite strong. Deciding I liked it anyway, I continued to drink out, and Fluttershy followed my example, grabbing a cup-full from the red bowl. The punch table was up higher off the ground, and I could see around quite effectively. I saw a tail that looked a lot like Rarity's disappear inside the bakery, and I decided to head that way first. I topped off my balloon bowl of punch and worked my way off the platform. We finally got inside, and I saw that Rarity was indeed inside, over in the corner with Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and floating above them, a blue mare with rainbow colored mane I didn't recognize. We slowly made our way over, then finally broke through the crowd. Fluttershy gasped and ran over to hide behind Applejack instead.

"Not much of a party person then?" I asked with a laugh as I walked over. She peeked out from behind her orange shield, and responded quietly, so I almost didn't hear her.

"That's not it, there's just so many ponies here..." She said, looking cautiously around. I smiled and laughed, watching her drink almost her entire cup of punch in embarrassment. She made a funny face, but I figured she was just reacting to something somepony was doing behind me. I took another gulp of my punch, noticing the warm feeling it left in my throat. Remembering the ponies in front of me, I lowered my punch away from my face in embarrassment. Rarity smiled warmly, Applejack laughed, and Pinkie Pie did her usual bouncy thing.

"So uh, hi again! Seems like I just saw you all!" I said, then remembered the blue pegasus.

"Oh ya, well, except for you. What's your name?" I asked, noticing how difficult it seemed to be getting to construct sentences.

"Come on; don't tell me you don't know me. I'm like, the fastest, most amazing flyer in Equestria!" She said, sounding slightly annoyed. I thought about it, then realized that I wouldn't know considering I barely knew anything about this world due to my general lack of existence in it. I shook my head. She rolled her eyes before responding.

"I'm Rainbow Dash. Nice to meet you." She said, with a lazy salute. I did my best attempt at returning it, but something about the looks on the faces of the ponies in front of me told me that I failed. I took another gulp of punch to cover my embarrassment, and they looked at each other worriedly.

"Darling, which bowl did you get your punch out of?" Rarity asked. I thought about it, but found it hard to remember.

"I... Uh... I have no idea." I said with a giggle.

"I'm gonna take a guess, it was the red bowl, wasn't it?" Applejack asked. I looked over at Fluttershy to see if she had any idea, but she was just standing there blissfully, her face taking on shades of pink. Suddenly a scrap of insight floated into my head, and I remembered.

"Ya, ya I guess it was. Is that... Is that bad?" I said, stumbling over some of the words. The four ponies in front of me, excluding Fluttershy, looked at each other in amusement.

"Not exactly, darling. Although I'm afraid with as much as you two have consumed, you're both going to have a pretty bad headache in the morning." Rarity explained, just before my memory flickered out.

* * *

I woke groggily up, face full of something that felt feathery. I opened my eyes, but that didn't help much, as my eyes were still covered. I brushed the thing off my face, and noticed that I was no longer at Sugarcube Corner, but I appeared to be in some sort of wooden cottage. I noticed there was something mildly heavy on top of me, and I looked down to see a sleeping Fluttershy flat out, wings spread, across me. I then realized that this was Fluttershy's cottage, and since this didn't look like the spare room she had lent me, this must be her bed. I flopped back down on the bed, trying to remember what had happened. Suddenly a thought occurred to me, and I blushed redder then I had in a long time. _We didn't... Did we? No, no, no! We can't have!_ I said to myself. I thought for a few more minutes, before I realized that my lower legs were really numb. I carefully shook Fluttershy, trying to get her to wake up. After a few seconds, she groaned, yawned, stretched, sending her wing back into my face, then probably after realizing that she wasn't actually lying on her bed, opened her eyes. We locked eyes, and after a few seconds, I broke the silence.

"Hey, what happened last night?"

* * *

**He didn't! Or did he...? You'll find out soon... :P I'm sorry for being so evil. But you know, deep down inside, you enjoy it. I sowwy, I'll stop being mean. Let's see who gets the slight reference with the punch bowls, I'll post your name just like last time. (Have you opened a tab to TwiLanes yet? :P) I don't think there's too much to say right now, so here's your review question:**

**What's the funniest time a party you were at went south, and what did you do to try and fix things? Or, for the social shut-outs like me who haven't been to a party, what's the funniest thing you can imagine happening at a party that was technically "bad"? (That's purposely open-ended)**

**Confusing as always, that's my specialty! Have a good time everypony, and please keep supporting your favorite authors, they work really hard to publish good content. And feel free to PM!**


	7. Towering Apples Of Destiny

**Heyy everypony! This is the first chapter since my plot crisis. (Don't even think about it -_-) Unfortunately, because I removed a chapter and messed with things, reveiws are all messed up, sorry about that. My suggestion is to review as a guest, but put your username in anyway. I'm not sure I totally like that way I dealt with last chapter's cliffhanger, but I was actually really not sure how to write that part, so please forgive me. Here is the view count, as well as the answers to the review question.**

**View count: 883 (Also because of chapter craziness)**

**The question was: "__****What's the funniest time a party you were at went south, and what did you do to try and fix things? Or, for the social shut-outs like me who haven't been to a party, what's the funniest thing you can imagine happening at a party that was technically "bad"? (That's purpos****ely**** open-ended)"**

* * *

******TwiLanes:**

_******"Um, if family birthday parties count, my cousins who are sisters don't always get along, and when they get into arguments I'll have to sort it out a lot. And sometimes it takes a while, so..."**_

******DrKeo:**

_******"as for a party going south? well that's not for the PG ears lol but i'll say I made my self look like a fool, and I still don't remember a thing of that night, save what others told me lol. yay 21st bdays! lol"**_

* * *

******Closing remark: Don't get drunk at a party, kids. It's bad for your reputation. Have fun reading everypony!**

* * *

"Hey, what happened last night?" I asked. Fluttershy looked at me in confusion, then looked around, then at where she was laying. Suddenly, something appeared to click in her head, and she jumped off me, turned as red as blood, and screamed all at the same time. She ran out of the room, looking like she was about to burst into tears. I shook my head, then sat up and looked out the window. It was still early enough that I wouldn't be late for my new job at the library, and I had a little time to try and sort things out with Fluttershy. I climbed off the bed, and went looking for her. As I searched, I tried to remember what had happened. I got glimpses of the party, then of Fluttershy and me stumbling home, with... I focused on the last bit. I then remembered that Rarity and Applejack had walked us home. As I pondered that last revelation, I turned the corner and almost ran into Fluttershy. She was slightly more normal colored now, and looked less terrified, but she was still pretty shaken up.

"I... I think... Everything is ok... Blaze." She stammered, staring at her hooves.

"How do you... Actually, I don't want to know." I said, blushing. Then I remembered the other thing I had to tell her.

"I remember Rarity and Applejack walking us home last night, we could ask them what happened." I said, with a small smile of confidence. She slowly and cautiously looked up, as if something bad would happen if she weren't careful.

"Hey, I know we were pretty drunk, but I swear to you, I would never do anything like that to you while I had breath in my body. I can tell you now, you're safe." I said, looking warmly but seriously into her eyes. She slowly nodded, looking away again.

"Look, I should be headed to the library, don't want to be late for work. But if you'd like, once I'm done I can stop by Sweet Apple Acres and ask Applejack what happened. And while I'm gone, you can find Rarity and ask her. Sound good?" I asked. She looked back at me and nodded, her face slowly returning to a normal color. Then she seemed to remember something.

"Oh, and, um, I have a... Thing... Later, so I won't be home until late afternoon. Will you be ok?" She asked quietly. I looked at her with curiosity, wondering what this 'thing' was. I decided to drop it though.

"Ya, I'm sure I'll be fine. See you later then!" I said, as I walked past her and towards the door.

"Bye, Blaze." She said, still sounding scared and shocked, but less so then before. I opened the door and stepped through, waving to Fluttershy as I closed it behind me. I began my long walk into town, which seemed to get longer as my alcohol-induced headache began to grow. _I was kinda... Cold with Fluttershy back there, wasn't I? I mean, I guess I was just as worried that something had happened, I'm just better at hiding it. I hope she even lets me stay with her after this..._ I thought as I walked. A little while later, I found myself I front of the library. Shaking off the thoughts of last night, I pushed open the door and walked inside. It was even worse than when we had last been through, despite the fact that it had only been a day. It was as if ponies were determined to make my first day as difficult as possible. I sighed, walked over to the first pile, and sat down next to it. I then changed my mind, stood up, and grabbed the pile. I carried it with me to the selves, where I began to work back and forth, putting books back on the shelves when I found their proper homes. Half an hour later, the first pile was done, leaving only a dozen or so left. The small smile of satisfaction melted off my face, and I decided it was going to be a long shift.

* * *

"I'm finally done! I can't believe it! And in only... Five hours!" I said, looking around at the room that I was standing in. There were no more piles of books; everything was back on the shelves it belonged on. I was tired, hungry, and nearing exasperation, but I wasn't about to let the books win. I grinned and prepared to leave, when the Belle above the door rang, and I heard the door swing open. I spun around, ready to tackle somepony foolish enough to bring more books in, but was surprised to see the mayor. She looked around the room in awe, clearly pleased with the improvements.

"This place looks amazing, Blazing Star! Just like when Princess Twilight lived here. Thank you so much for accepting this job. Oh! And that reminds me, I have something for you." She said, peering back into one of her bags. I heard an 'ah hah!' and she turned back with a small mouthful of coins. She grabbed them with her hoof and counted them, before handing me the five silver coins and seven copper ones. I looked at them in disbelief, before looking up at her with a grin. The thought then crossed my mind that I had nowhere to put them, and I mentally made a note to go buy some bags when I was done.

"I hadn't expected to get paid so soon, thank you!" I said, offering my free hoof for a hoof-shake. She shook it with a warm smile.

"I remembered you saying yesterday that you were a little tight on money, and so I decided I could manage part of your paycheck early." She said. I nodded in thanks, and she made her way out of the library. I looked around one more time. There weren't any obvious problems or books left out, so I figured it would be safe to leave. I headed out the door, holding tightly onto my newfound money. I walked up to the first pony I saw to ask for directions, when I saw that he looked familiar. I hadn't seen him without his coat, but as best I could tell, the stallion that stood in front of me looked exactly like Doctor Whooves.

"Uh, Sir? Could you perhaps tell me where I find go to find a store that sells saddlebags? I'm fairly new here, and have not yet learned the town." I said with a smile. He appeared to be mildly started when he saw me, but quickly recovered.

"Of course! If you follow this street, then take a left, then a right, you'll end up within viewing distance of '_ saddlebags'. It's got a big sign, you can't miss it." He said with a laugh. I grinned before responding.

"Ok, thanks. Oh! And do you, by chance, happen to have, like, a twin brother named Whooves who lives in Canterlot as a doctor?" I asked. He clearly looked worried, and he nervously started backing away.

"I uh... I have no idea who that is, sorry. Now if you'll excuse me, I uh... I gotta go." He said before running off. I shook my head in confusion, wondering what that sudden change in mood was all about. I turned and followed his directions, until I came upon a medium sized glass front store that had a large sign hanging above it labeled '- saddlebags'. The front displays showed a few fancy bags on mannequins that were no doubt far beyond my price range. I pushed open the door and walked in. I headed over to a rack of simple bags in more natural colors. I stood at the rack for a little while, trying to find the cheapest ones, when a mare walked over.

"Can I help you, sir?" She asked. I was quiet for a few moments, before I spoke up.

"Ya, I just moved into town and don't have a ton of money, so I was hoping to find a relatively cheap pair of bags for now, at least until I can afford something nicer." I said, looking over at her. She smiled and nodded, then pointed to a pair of brown cloth backs with simple silver colored buckles.

"If I may make a suggestion, I think you'll find these to be quite satisfactory, and easy on your budget. They're strong, but still light, and have a medium capacity." She said happily. I picked them up off the hooks that they were resting on and inspected them. They were a light brown, with two darker straps running from one back to the other in a partial loop. I checked the price, and saw that they were 32 bits. I thought back to when Fluttershy was paying for the pizza in Canterlot. She paid for a seven bit bill with seven if the copper coins, so logically the next step would be that the silver were ten. I had five silver and seven copper, so I did indeed have enough money. I smiled and looked over at her.

"I'll take them!" I said.

"Excellent, that'll be 32 bits, please." She said with a smile, holding out her hoof. I dropped three silver and two copper into her hoof, before looking up with concern.

"Is that the right amount? I'm afraid I'm new to the currency system." I said apologetically. She nodded, tucking the coins away into her own, small bag.

"Have a nice day!" She said before walking back behind the counter that I had failed to notice on entry. I put the bags on, and smiled. _Wow, I actually just did something on my own! It's odd being treated as an adult, despite being only sixteen. I guess it's probably just because I look older._ I tossed my remaining coins into the bag on my left and walked out of the store. It was nearing one in the afternoon, and my stomach suddenly growled in hunger, and brought to my mind the fact that it had been since yesterday that I last ate, since I was in such a rush that morning. I looked around, trying to see if there were any nearby places to eat. I saw mostly shops, and so I decided to head further along the street I was on street, which I hoped was further into town. I began to hear sounds of ponies talking, and I turned and walked in that direction. After a little while, I came upon a small market, where a hoof-full of ponies had set up stands and were selling various things. I spotted Applejack on the other side, and began to work my way over. Her stand was running low on apples, and I guessed she had been doing fairly well.

"Selling a lot of apples?" I asked, walking up to her stand. She grinned in response, and laughed.

"Best day for apple sales of the year so far! I'm gonna have to go get more apples myself, if Big Mac don't show up with more soon. But what can I do for ya? Need a help gettin' rid of a headache?" She said with a wink, then she laughed again. I grinned, remembering the night before.

"Actually, I do have a question for you. You and Rarity walked us home last night, didn't you?" I asked, my smile slowly faded. She nodded, a more serious look on her face.

"So, uh... Do you have any idea what happened once we got home? Fluttershy and I woke up in... Well we'll just say a less than ideal position, both of us on her bed, and I'm trying to make sure nothing... Happened." I said, blushing and looking away. She shook her head, and my heart sank.

"Sorry partner, all I did was see y'all to the door. Rarity went inside with y'all, so I guess asking her would be better." She said, looking at me apologetically. I brightened up a bit then.

"Well Fluttershy was going to ask Rarity, and honestly she's the one who needs reassuring, so that's fine. Thanks for your help!" I said, smiling again. She shook her head slowly and laughed again.

"No problem, glad I could help. Wouldn't want anything to happen to Fluttershy, after all." She said with a smile. I pretended to be offended by her last comment, and made an insulted face.

"What about me? Aren't I worth worrying about?" I asked. She grinned back at me, and I knew she didn't believe my anger.

"Not really, ya look like you're pretty good at helping yourself, and ya ain't quite as fragile as Fluttershy." She said. I glowered for a few more seconds, then I smiled again.

"You're probably right. Anyway, can I buy an apple or two? I haven't eaten in a while and I don't really want to spend my entire paycheck today." I said with a laugh. She nodded, then motioned to the different varieties she had on display. I grabbed three different apples, a green one, a red one, and one that was halfway in-between. I was able to tell her I was done, when I noticed a small pile of mini apple pies. I must have started drooling, or at least was otherwise obvious in my desire, because she chuckled and grabbed one off the pile, holding it out to me.

"And one of these, I take it?" She asked with a smile. I nodded slowly, reaching out to grab it. I tossed the other three apples in my bag and inhaled the smells of the pie, with only a passing thought to how I used to only moderately enjoy apple pie, and it now smelled like the best thing in the world. The sound of Applejack's voice finally broke through to me though.

"That'll be three bits total." She said, and I grabbed the money out of my bag. I gave her the coins and walked off with my newfound treasure, impressed by the affects of hunger on tastes. I sat down next to a building a little ways away, and began to rapidly devour the pie. In what felt like an instant, it was gone, leaving me with only sticky hooves and a slightly more happy stomach. I stood up and brushed the crumbs off, then looked around. I didn't have anything else to do, so I decided to go exploring the town. I began munching on the greenest of the apples as I walked, as I was still hungry. I hadn't gotten very far, however, before I heard several young voices yell something out.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TOW-" Followed by a large crashing sound.

"Or not..." I heard the follow up statement, and chuckled to myself as I walked around the corner and saw a large pile of wooden crates, haphazardly settled on the ground, a few of them broken. I shook my head and looked over at the instigators of the commotion, three young fillies. There was a white unicorn with a light purple and pink mane, an orange pegasus with a purple mane and tail, and a yellow earth-pony with a bright pink mane and a slightly lighter pink bow. Suddenly I recognized the last filly.

"Hey, you're Applebloom, right?" I asked as I walked over. She turned and looked at me, confused for a moment, then she realized who I was.

"Oh, ya! And you're that pony who fell-" She started, but I cut her off.

"Please, I'd like to keep that from spreading for as long as possible. But I'd like to thank you for your help; I probably wouldn't have made it without you." I said with a smile. She nodded solemnly, looking over at her friends, who were in turn watching the two of us.

"Oh, and my name's Blazing Star, by the way. Since I couldn't tell you before." I said with a laugh.

"Nice to officially meet ya, Blazing Star. You clearly already know my name, so I'll skip that. This is Scootaloo, and the filly on the end is Sweetie Belle." Scootaloo saluted quickly, and Sweetie Belle waved.

"Pleasure to meet you two. Now if I may ask, what in Equestria were you three doing?" I asked, looking from the fillies to the boxes, then back again. They looked at each other, then slowly Scootaloo spoke up.

"Well... We were trying to get our cutie marks in tower building, but it turns out we're not very good at it. It took all three of us to lift the boxes, and we had to stagger them like steps to get them high enough, so they fell over. So ya..." She said, looking sadly at the boxes. I grimaced and nodded understandingly.

"Sorry about that. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Be careful that they don't fall on you though." I said, starting to turn away.

"Wait a second..." I heard Scootaloo say, and I turned back around.

"You don't have your cutie mark either. So, you could help us, and maybe we'll get our cutie marks in tower building!" She said excitedly, bouncing in excitement at the idea. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom looked at each other, then they too began bouncing excitedly. I almost responded and said no, but then I paused and thought about it. _Well, if I'm helping, they're less likely to get hurt, which is good. And I don't really have anything else to do today..._

"Sure, why not." I said, sliding my back off where they wouldn't be under hoof.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TOWER BUILDERS! YAY!" They cheered, high hoofing each other. I laughed and shook my head slowly, walking over to the group.

"So, where do we start?" I asked, looking over at the pile.

"Well, first we should probably clean up the old ones so that we've got space to work." Sweetie Belle said, walking over. The rest of us followed her, and soon we had organized all the intact boxes and gotten rid of the broken ones.

"Now, how about we do a few layers that are two by two, so that the ones further up will be more stable." I suggested, looking over at the others. They nodded, and we each began pushing a box over to the spot where we were building. We pushed them together, then took a step back.

"Looks good so far, but that was the easy layer." Applebloom said. We all nodded in agreement, then we went back and grabbed more boxes. We pushed them over to the edge, then one at a time, lifted them up and put them into place. We got them up without a hitch, and looked at our work again.

"Still looks pretty solid, so let's do one more layer of four boxes." I said, and they nodded in agreement. We pushed our four over, then stood looking at the task in front of us. The two rows we had were now taller then I was, so it wouldn't be as easy.

"Ok, so how about Sweetie Belle and Blaze go up on top of the tower, and pull the boxes up, while Applebloom and I lift them from underneath?" Scootaloo asked, looking around at the other three of us. I looked over at Sweetie Belle, who nodded. She clambered up on top of the boxes, using the ones we hadn't yet placed as steps. I followed her up, then turned and prepared to grab the box that Applebloom and Scootaloo were hoisting up. They were definitely struggling, and I grabbed it as soon as I could reach. They then pushed it a little further, until they couldn't reach, then it was all resting in my hooves for a little while. I dragged it up most of the way, until Sweetie Belle could finally reach, and together we pulled it the rest of the way and placed it. We looked over the edge, and motioned for the next one. The process varied little for the next three boxes; the last one just involved lifting it up twice. We were three rows and about ten feet up when Sweetie Belle and I looked at each other and realized that we were soon going to have a problem. It wasn't such a long jump down for me, but for Sweetie Belle it would be a little more difficult. I looked over at her, then down at the ground again.

"Hey, guys, can you move a box over for Sweetie Belle to jump down onto? That way she can help you move boxes up, and I can stack them the rest of the way." I said, motioning behind me. They nodded and pushed a box over, onto which Sweetie Belle jumped.

"Now, if you three can get a box up onto that one, then up as high as you can reach, I should be able to grab it." I said, pointing at the box Sweetie Belle was standing on. After a bit of a struggle, they got it up, and I was able to grab it. I was barely able to pull the box up on my own though, and dragging it up the side of the tower was difficult because of all the edges. Finally, I got it in place at the top of the tower, in the middle. Breathing heavily, I looked over at the three fillies, who were waiting anxiously below. I grinned at them and waved, as if I was towering high above.

"I got it, but I'm not sure how many times I can do that." I said wearily. They looked at each other in concern, then Applebloom got an idea.

"I know! Why don't ya just use magic ta lift 'em instead? I'm sure that'll be much easier." She said happily. I nodded in agreement.

"I'll use magic, but you girls are still going to have to bring them as close as possible, I'm not very good at magic. Also, as soon as you feel the box lift off, I want you to get out from under it, encase I drop it." They nodded and ran over to get another box. A minute or so later, they were holding it up, within physical reach.

"Please hurry Blaze; I'm not sure I can hold this much longer!" Scootaloo said, her voice wavering. I concentrated on the box, and soon it was surrounded by shimmering orange. I began to slowly move it up, and I saw the three fillies run out from under it and stand back to watch. When they let go, it was as if somepony had made the box twice much work to lift, because suddenly I felt like I could actually feel the energy draining out of my body. Upon realizing this, I rushed the box upwards, determined to get at least one of them with magic. Once it was high enough, I moved it over the previous one, and was about to start lowering it when I noticed it was getting scorched and starting to smoke. I promptly dropped it the rest of the way, releasing my magical hold on the box. I pushed the box, which was hot to the touch, into place, aligning it straight on top of the previous one. I looked down at the three fillies again.

"Well, it worked, but I appear to have almost set the box on fire from all the force I was channeling to it. I swear, that felt like almost as much work as picking the box up directly. But I can probably manage that one or two more times, if I move quickly." They quickly got the next box into place, and I wasted no time with inching it around. I grabbed it with my magic and pulled it up as hard as I could, sending it shooting up. I then brought it over and slightly aligned it on the stack, lowering it just far enough that I wouldn't crush the previous two when I let go. It crashed down the last two feet, landing at a diagonal to the others. I straightened it, then we repeated the process again. By then end of the forth box, I was feeling pretty tired, and decided to call it there. I jumped carefully down, and we all stood back to look at our nearly two story tower.

"Well? See anything?" Scootaloo asked, looking at her flank, which appeared to persist in its cutie mark-less state. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were facing the same problem, as was I, but I expected as much.

"Nope. Darn..." Applebloom said sadly.

"Oh well. At least it was fun! Right?" I asked with a smile. They nodded, smiling a little.

"I'm sure you'll find it eventually, you just have to be patient." I said, as I walked over and put my bags back on.

"Ya, ya, ya, but that's boring! I know! Let's go see if Applejack needs our help! Maybe we can get our cutie marks in apple selling!" Scootaloo said excitedly. I laughed and shook my head, walking off into town.

"But I already tried that, before I met you guys, and didn't get anything..." Applebloom said, gradually getting quieter. I looked around, trying to see if there was a clock nearby. I didn't see anything, but I guessed it couldn't be much later then three in the afternoon. _I wonder how late Fluttershy will be out, she didn't really say..._ I thought, wondering what I should do next. As I wandered further, I could swear I saw a blue, then a yellow streak above me near the clouds, but when I looked up, I didn't see anything.

* * *

**Well? How bad was it? Feel free to let me know in your review! That's about the most creative closing author's note I can come up with, please don't hate :P**

**Oh! Sooooo, what's the dumbest (And of course, funniest) thing you and your friends have ever tried to build?**

**Have a great day, and sorry about the short, double late chapter!**


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